Pockets

by Shawn Aveningo Sanders, Lana Hechtman Ayers (Compiler)

56 pages, Paperback

Published August 15, 2025

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this poetry collection. Sanders cleverly works a pocket into every poem, but these poems are about so much more than that, from a coveted pair of Levi’s to her father’s kidney transplant. The poems are accessible, layered, and often surprising. In “Pocket Protectors,” she writes not of those things in which people carry their pens, but a talisman to give her children. The poem concludes, “Perhaps one that I could sew into each pocket/of my child’s clothes, one that’s strong enough/to stop a bullet.” In a touching poem titled “They Call Me Mary,” she speaks in the voice of a homeless person. A woman calls her Mary and hands her a five-dollar bill. She imagines she will use it to buy a cup of coffee, telling the barista “My name is Mary.” “It will be the most delicious/cup of joe.” This is a book I could read again and again.

[John Wojtowicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful collection. The poems are engaging, emotionally resonate, and so so human. Even those who don't regularly read poetry will enjoy this collection. It was also fun to find the pocket in each poem.