Poem in Your Pocket Day takes place every year during National Poetry Month. Poem in Your Pocket Day 2021 is on on Thursday, April 29th.
This is a fun day to share the poems you love with the people in your life! You can keep a poem in the pocket in your pants, your shirt, or your sweater and give it to someone. If you don’t have a pocket, you can make a pocket!
The first way you can make a paper pocket is to find a picture of a pocket online and print it out. Then you can cut the pocket out and glue the bottom and sides to another piece of paper. Leave the top unglued so that you can put poems in the pocket. If you picked up the Sensory Poetry Kit, there is a Poem in Your Pocket craft in it. If you don’t have access to a printer, you can draw a pocket and cut it out instead of printing it.
The second way you can make a paper pocket is by folding. The art of folding paper into shapes is called origami. It comes to us from Japan. Folding paper cranes and swans is a common form of origami. The paper pocket is quite simple!
You will need a piece of origami paper or a square piece of paper. You can watch me folding the pocket in the April 29 Poem in Your Pocket Storytime. There are many YouTube tutorials, as well.
These pockets are great for sharing poems!
You can write the poems you put in your pocket. If you don’t feel like writing poems, you can find some poems in books from the library! You can copy a poem you like in a book by writing it in your own handwriting or by making a copy using a copy machine.
Your friends and family will appreciate the poems you choose to share. Here are some books I like:
Another place to find poems is online. I found some poems written by Shel Silverstein on the website shelsilverstein.com that are perfect for cutting out and putting into pockets! They are shaped like leaves on a tree. We have many copies of Shel Silverstein’s books here at the library, including:
- Where the Sidewalk Ends: The Poems & Drawings of Shel Silverstein
- Falling Up: Poems and Drawings
- A Light in the Attic
No matter how you decide to celebrate National Poetry Month and Poem in Your Pocket Day, you are sure to have fun! Maybe you will also discover some new favorite poets to share, too!
