little pocket poetry

Keep a poem in your pocket
and a picture in your head
and you'll never feel lonely
at night when you're in bed.

                                                                Beatrice Schenk de Regniers

Poem in Your Pocket Day

Every April, during events linked to National Poetry Month, New York City celebrates an annual Poem In Your Pocket Day. New Yorkers are encouraged to carry a poem in their pockets to share with family, friends, coworkers and classmates throughout the day.

Why not carry a poem in your pocket every day, no matter where you live? Who knows when it might come in handy. Use a poem presented here, or carry a favorite one of your own.

This page will offer a new "Pocket Poem" monthly at every full moon, and two poems during any month there is a second full ("blue") moon.

Enjoy!

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Buddhist Barbie

In the 5th century B.C. 

an Indian philosopher

Gautama teaches "All is emptiness"

and "There is no self."

In the 20th century A.D.

Barbie agrees, but wonders how a man

with such a belly could pose,

smiling, and without a shirt.

—by Denise Duhamel

In 1961, Denise Duhamel was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. She received a BFA degree from Emerson College and a MFA degree from Sarah Lawrence College. She is the author of numerous books and chapbooks of poetry. A winner of an National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Duhamel has been anthologized widely. She teaches creative writing and literature at Florida International University and lives in Hollywood, Florida.