How do you celebrate National Poetry Month? Well, read poetry! Also, on April 17th, carry a poem in your pocket. Seriously.
It seems that April 17th is the first national Poem In Your Pocket Day. Carry a poem with you and share it with co-workers, family, and friends.
Need help finding a poem? The Academy of American Poets can help…browse poems online. Or, do a subject keyword search of the University Library catalog for
poetry. Or, search the poems section of the LitFINDER database.
I’d like to share with you an excerpt from The Library Speaks by Elizabeth Welton Lumpkin (discovered in the LitFINDER database):
I hold within my silent heart
A store of wisdom deep,
Which you, by reaching out your hands,
May have to use and keep.And more than this I have at heart
A fond and deep desire
To be a help in anything
To which you may aspire.I hold the best of everything
In History, Science, Art,
And stand in eager willingness
This knowledge to impart.Men would forget the Great of yore
And all their valiant deeds;
So I will keep them on my shelf
For everyone who reads.Discoveries of every age,
And tales from every land,
I have in language clear and plain
That all may understand.Great Artists too, with brush and pen
In History took their parts
And gave me pictures, poems, prose,
The choicest of their arts.But if you tire of lore so deep
And would relax the mind,
I have the choicest fiction
It is possible to find. …So come as often as you can
And spend some time with me,
For you’ll grow old as I grow old,
And lifelong friends we’ll be.
If you liked this excerpt, you can read the entire poem in the database, or check out the book Homespun; an anthology of poetry by the General federation of women’s clubs (University Library’s 1st-floor Center Compact Shelving PS589 .G4).
