National "Poem in Your Pocket" Day wasThursday, April 26, 2012. 

The idea is simple: select a poem you love during National Poetry Month, then carry it with you to share with co-workers, family, and friends. You can also share your poem selection on Twitter by using the hashtag #pocketpoem. 

Poems from pockets will be unfolded throughout the day with events in parks, libraries, schools, workplaces, and bookstores. 

Since our web page doesn't have a "pocket", we decided it was a good time to share a recent submission from a local resident, who shared with us a poem she had written entitled simply "Sundays at The Pier". And since it's so sweet, we've decided to let it run on our site a bit longer!


It’s just a typical Sunday at The St. Pete Pier:
People are strolling, the air is clear;
A freckle-faced man in a passion-flowered shirt
Sits with his family at a canopied table.
He sips something cool and tries to stay alert
As a flotilla of sailboats gracefully skirts The Pier’s lower deck.
He evens cranes his neck to watch them skim across the sea
Where dolphins ride their wakes and cavort in syncopy.

A foreign delegation is making an investigation
Of The Pier’s shops and aquarium.
The locals try not to stare at them.

But now Sis and Junior are started to balk,
So the family gets up and takes a little walk
To the Bait House where the kids can gawk
At the pelicans waddling and creating a squawk:
Some posing for photos, others watching like hawks
For their favorite fish – if only they could talk!

Suddenly, a swaying rhythm wafts their way,
The musicians have arrived at the bandstand by the bay.
So, the family returns to a canopied table
Strategically placed so that everyone’s able 
To hear all the notes and still watch the birds and boats.

Meanwhile, the foreign delegation has completed their spree,
And as their trolley departs they look back longingly
At all the laughing, laid-back people beside the warm and languid sea.

It’s just a typical Sunday at The St. Pete Pier;
Yet, it seems like every pleasure in the world – is here! 


Submitted by Susan Miller, April 2012