These poems each have a set of guided questions, related videos that allow for deeper investigation, and suggested writing activities. We'll be adding more poems here soon! Laurentian Shield This portrait of a rocky, silent Canadian landscape speaks to the country’s limitations and its potential. Money A museum coin collection prompts a reflection on the captivating nature of currency. Jesse’s Farm Sadiqa de Meijer reckons with environmental degradation and motherhood in this poem that asks whether showing our children “the beloved world” is enough. From One and Half of You Trying on traditional clothing and finding how it fits. Or not. Two Words: A Wedding bpNichol presents life as a river of ever-changing words and asks us to step in. One Art When loss feels inevitable, sometimes the only thing to do is write it down… Letters In this tender poem tracing a lost love, the speaker holds on by letting things go… I Have Something to Tell You In this surreal poem, a man made of cameras brings his unexpected concerns into sharper focus. My Brother at 3 A.M. A pervasive sense of paranoia threads itself through the quiet night of this poem. The Fatigue Fatigue is often the first sign something is wrong with one's body. Fatigue looms larger than life in this poem which grapples with meds, family, and coping. Two Hours on the Train In this deceptively simple poem, a poet on a journey transcends time. Mantra of No Return It is possible to travel home when one has never been there. This poem does. La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad What would you ask a knight if you found him alone and palely loitering along a barren path? The Bull Moose A moose's final, tortured moments unfold in a series of brutal images. These Poems, She Said Can an argument be the foundation of a love poem? Robert Bringhurst certainly thinks so! An Innocent Little Girl • Favzieh Rahgozar Barlas captures a snapshot of child marriage, its cultural and economic context, and its physical and emotional aftermath. the knowing Connie Fife cryptically combines land and body in this poem exploring connection to place and past. My Grandmother Washes Her Feet in the Sink of the Bathroom at Sears A clash of cultures in a department store bathroom showcases pride and power in the towns matrons as well as the space in the middle where the speaker lives The Lonely Land In this free verse poem, snapshots of a wild landscape show that beauty and conflict are not mutually exclusive — and that one may be derived from the other. A Stone Diary A love poem to a stone takes on deeper, rockier meanings. grass In his short, funny poem, Ward Maxwell asks us to step on the grass, saying “it deserves it.” But isn’t that the point of grass? Homage to the Mineral of the Onion (I) Could a vegetable be the antidote to war? This poem thinks so. Editing the Prairie If the prairie was a written story, imagine the rejection letter it might get! Modestine A woman writes a tender poem about her dad’s struggle with dementia. Opus 75, Sestina in B-flat for the Glockenspiel A silent glockenspiel plays out a teenage girl’s anxieties about growing up and fitting in. from “Road Shoulders” the shoulder of the road gleams with the poet's attention Fear of Snakes The life of a snake and the memory of girlhood trauma are told in sinuously entwined language. The Trick The body and the mind are intimately linked and cannot be divorced from each other. From Correspondences Anne Michaels challenges us to find new maps to think about old experiences. Weed Killer Fiona Tinwei Lam moves from personal to universal and back to the personal in this chilling poem about the ecological destruction bequeathed from one generation to the next. My sister cries the sea In this poem of environmental apocalypse, Mordecai pictures a divided planet as her sister, listening to the voices of plants and fish as they mourn habitat destruction in creole The Visions of Stone Carrier In this dreamlike piece exploring memory and primogeniture, N. Scott Momaday casts a haunting spell that transports the reader through mystery and reminiscence. Before the Birth of One of Her Children This frank, devout poem confronts the risks facing a 17th-century woman in childbirth. Sometimes a Voice (1) On a hot summer afternoon, Danny jumped off the boathouse roof without thinking of the consequences. I saw a perfect tree today Lillian Allen praises the rampant diversity of trees in Northern Ontario and asks us to see perfection in difference. the ghosts of women once girls Poet Aja Monet reveals both gladness and sadness from a little girl enraptured by literature. Plenty Who would have thought a trip to the grocery store could be so full of beauty? The Powwow at the End of the World Sherman Alexie slams the environmental destruction of settler-colonialism as we travel on an upstream course towards the powwow at the end of the world. dont worry yr hair Having a bad day? This uplifting poem about the power of our inner potential should light a spark. aubade for the BPD subreddit user who wrote can people with BPD love? The stunningly cruel comments of an internet forum reverberate throughout a sleepless night Pagination 1 2 3 4 Next › Next page Last » Last page Language English