Sunday, June 23, 2013

A POEM FOR YOU TODAY


You know, I always thought that Bill Martin wrote this poem, but after searching the internet, I find this beautiful thought belongs to Beatrice Schenk de Regniers.  It’s a reminder of the sweet thoughts that poetry can bring to all of us!

Keep a Poem in Your Pocket
By Beatrice Schenk de Regniers

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.

The little poem will sing to you
The little picture will bring to you
A dozen dreams to dance to you
At night when you’re in bed.

So…keep a picture in your pocket
And a poem in your head
And you’ll never feel lonely
At night when you’re in bed.

Last week in Vicksburg, MS, a teacher said she shared her love of poetry with her kindergarteners by having them memorize this and other poems throughout the school year.  She connects poems with phonemic awareness, word wall words, fluency, punctuation, and other skills they are working on.  As her students travel through life they will forget many things, but they will always have a poem in their heads to make them smile and remember kindergarten.  What a gift!