Saint Paul's delightful habit of preserving and honoring poems by pressing them into the wet cement of new sidewalks has begun to spread. Falcon Heights and Northfield both recently announced similar projects. Saint Paul is now announcing the opening of its sixth year of poetry competitions.

You have until midnight on March 15 to submit a poem--or two--to the Everyday Poems for City Sidewalk competition. Judges will choose five poems to be walked on, shoveled over, rained on and stumbled upon by delighted residents.

There are requirements: You must be a St. Paul resident; poems must be in English; you must submit online; and there is a fee and a length requirement. (All rules are here, on the St. Paul government page.)

The five lucky winners will each receive $150 and their poems pressed repeatedly into new sidewalks. After five years of Sidewalk Poetry, St. Paul has 50 poems pressed 700 times into sidewalks all over the city.

Winners will be announced, as always, in May at the monthly Readings for Writers, curated by St. Paul Poet Laureate Carol Connolly.