Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month is a special occasion the celebrates poets’ integral role in our culture and that poetry matters. For the April Story Walk at Gibson Park, we have a list of Poems available along the trail for you to read and listen to! Each sign has a QR Code that links you to this site. You can find the numbered poems below and a link to their books and audio versions if they exist online.
For more information on National Poetry Month, please visit: https://poets.org/national-poetry-month
The Great Falls Public Library supports the right of each family to decide which items are appropriate for use by their children. The poems included our National Poetry Month Story Walk come from books and websites that were originally published with a variety of different audiences in mind, including adults. Parents are encouraged to review these materials and other media before sharing them with their children.
| Sign # | References |
|---|---|
| 1 | Story Walk title sign |
| 2 | Event fliers Please see our website calendar for more information: Website Calendar |
| 3 | Invitation by Shel Silverstein, included in his classic collection of poetry for children, Where the Sidewalk Ends Listen to this on YouTube! |
| 4 | I Like You as You Are (lyrics by Josie Carey, music by Fred Rogers) from A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mr. Rogers |
| 5 | Ridin’ by Linda Bark’karie from Cowgirl Poetry: One Hundred Years of Ridin’ and Rhymin’ edited by Virginia Bennett |
| 6 | If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking by Emily Dickinson, from The Essential Emily Dickinson edited by Joyce Carol Oates |
| 7 | A River that Flows Forever: 4 Mother by Tupac Shakur from Tupac: Resurrection This collection of poetry, prose writings, and photographs is intended for adults and contains mature content. |
| 8 | Rooster from Redneck Haiku by Mary K. Witte This collection of short poems is intended for adults. |
| 9 | Hoola Hand from Horse Tracks: Poems by Henry Real Bird, who is a member of the Crow Nation and a former Montana Poet Laureate. More Information |
| 10 | Every Dog’s Story by Mary Oliver from her collection Dogs Songs: Thirty-Five Dog Songs and One Essay |
| 11 | Hammock by Shel Silverstein from his classic collection of poetry for children A Light in the Attic Hear this book read aloud on YouTube! |
| 12 | Keep Going by Edgar A. Guest Read this poem ONLINE Unfortunately, Keep Going does not appear to be not included in any collection owned by GFPL and the other Montana Partner Libraries. View other titles by this author here! Hear Keep Going aloud on YouTube Edgar A. Guest published over 11,000 inspirational poems in the Detroit Free Press between 1898 and 1959. More Information on Guest |
| 13 | The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost from his Collected Poems, Prose & Plays Hear this poem read aloud on YouTube! |
| 14 | The Crocodile by Lewis Carroll. Included in his classic novel for children Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Listen to this poem read aloud on YouTube |
| 15 | It’s Dark in Here by Shel Silverstein is included in his classic collection of poetry for children Where the Sidewalk Ends Listen to this book on YouTube! |
| 16 | The Dream Keepers by Langston Hughes. Included in The Collection Poems of Langston Hughes Hear this poem read aloud on YouTube! |
| 17 | Visitors Beware comes from the collection My Name is Jason, Mine, Too: Our Story, Our Way by Jason Reyolds and Jason Griffin |
| 18 | Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 from the The Holy Bible: King James Version Hear these verses read aloud on YouTube! |
| 19 | Grief Comes in Waves The author of this piece is unknown. It was originally published on the message board site Reddit. Find it online to read. Hear it read aloud on YouTube! |
| 20 | Man and Dog by Seigfried Sassoon. It is included in the collection Doggeral: Poems about Dogs, edited by Carmela Ciuraru |
| 21 | The Last Rose of Summer by Thomas Moore Read online at Poets.org! |
| 22 | The Patience of Ordinary Things by Pat Schneider It is available to read on Poets.org! Two adult prose works by Pat Schneider are included in the GFPL and Montana Partner Libraries’ catalogs! |
| 23 | Clothes Dryer Broken from Redneck Haiku by Mary K. Witte This collection of short poems is intended for adults. |
| 24 | My Shadow by Robert Lewis Stevenson. Included in his classic collection A Child’s Garden of Verses Hear this poem read aloud on YouTube! |
| 25 | Starlings in Winter by Mary Oliver. It is included in her collection Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays |
| 26 | The Tiger written by Nael, a 1st grader from Washington, D.C. Read it online! 826DC is a non-profit that aims to help students develop a lasting, positive relationship with writing that catalyzes their ability to live into their fullest possibility. For more information, visit their website! |
| 27 | The Red Wheel Barrow written by William Carlos Williams. The image used in the Storywalk comes from 16 Words: William Carlos Williams and “The Red Wheel Barrow” Hear this poem read aloud by the author on YouTube |
| 28-30 | The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe is included in Complete Poems: Edgar Allan Poe Hear this poem read aloud on YouTube! |
| 31 | Jacuzzi by Mary K. Witte from Redneck Haiku by Mary K. Witte This collection of short poems is intended for adults. |
| 32 | The Loser by Shel Silverstein is included in his classic collection of poetry for children Where the Sidewalk Ends Listen to this book on YouTube! |
| 33 | Excerpt from One Sentence Journal: Short Poems and Essays from the World at Large by Chris La Tray Chris La Tray is a Métis storyteller, a descendent of the Pembina Band of the mighty Red River of the North and an enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians. He is the current Montana Poet Laureate. More information on Chris. |
| 34 | Thank you Sign: The poems in this Story Walk were suggested by GFPL staff, volunteers, and patrons. Thank you for sharing your love of poetry with our community! |
| 35 | Map to the Great Falls Public Library |
