A Poem for Your Pocket

I learned several years ago from a member of my congregation that April 29th was Poem In Your Pocket Day. Though it’s a part of National Poetry Month, I’ve just discovered that it isn’t a fixed day during the Month, but rather it can move. Maybe it’s something like a moveable feast in the church calendar. Or maybe it’s something like the difference in Easter Sunday between the Julian and Gregorian Calendars.

Though I’m a week and a half late, every day one should have a poem in their pocket. So, for all my Substack, Poetry Pub, Goodness Tea Party, Almond Tree Peeps, and anyone who has an empty pocket out there. Here’s a Poem for Your Pocket.

I need a poem for my pocket--
One that I can take with me,
One that turns into a rocket,
Shoots me up and out and free…

One that lifts my eyes to heaven,
Enables me to see,
Words that work in me like leaven,
Or root me like a tree.

My pocket holds an iPhone
Some change and several keys
But my pocket needs a poem
To put my mind at ease.

(So) Here’s a poem for your pocket:
One to take where’er you go,
A promise in a locket,
A promise you should know.

His word is written in you
Is seed a Sower’s sown,
It sprouts and grows within you,
Till you become a poem

That sings His Hallelujah
Or weeps in sad lament,
Leaves you speechless in the awe
Of the Gospel Word He’s sent.

Like a poem in the pocket
Of His waistcoat near His breast
You are sealed in the locket
Of His loving heart, and blessed.