Put a Poem in Your Pocket . . .

Celebrate National Poetry Month by spreading Poetry Awareness!

POETS.org encourages us to select a poem we love, and carry it with us to share with co-workers, family, and friends. They offer tons of wonderful poetry from which to choose. Another good source for poetry is the Poetry Foundation. I have also collected a few lovely sites that promote poetry under the 'Persona Poetica' heading on my side bar.

Find out more about Poem in Your Pocket Day here.

The poem I'm carrying with me:

When I Consider How My Light Is Spent
- John Milton

When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest He returning chide;
"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work or His own gifts. Who best
Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His state
Is kingly: thousands at His bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait."


The last line is famous, even to those who've never cracked a book of verse, but the rest of the sonnet also has much to say. It speaks to some struggles that have decided to make themselves at home here, in my life. It comforts and encourages me in my times of frustration and discouragement. Each time I read it I can feel a hand squeeze my shoulder, sense the encouraging head nod.

This is the poem I'd like to put in my pocket.