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! Northern Light A poem about belonging when one doesn't feel like they are completely at home 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. My Brother at 3 A.M. A pervasive sense of paranoia threads itself through the quiet night of this poem. Famous In Famous, Naomi Nye speaks to the relationship between objects and the ideas they represent. She is as famous to the poem as the poem is famous its words. The Bow What flows through a name, and a name, and a name? The Fish A dreamy poem diving into oceanic imagery, exploring time and change. I Have Something to Tell You In this surreal poem, a man made of cameras brings his unexpected concerns into sharper focus. I Feel the Sun This poem articulates the poet’s intense feeling about the sunlight after going through a long winter. From Red Doc In this poem-as-a-conversation, a man and his mother consider how the past lives on in the present. Editing the Prairie If the prairie was a written story, imagine the rejection letter it might get! The ABG (Able-Bodied Gaze) The abled-bodied gaze is an intrusive force in this poem, making a spectacle of a disabled body and attempting to reduce them to their impairment. Fear of Snakes The life of a snake and the memory of girlhood trauma are told in sinuously entwined language. susiya Music binds and refreshes community Laurentian Shield This portrait of a rocky, silent Canadian landscape speaks to the country’s limitations and its potential. 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? I’ve Tasted My Blood In this thunderous poem, the speaker proclaims his rage, anguish, and hope in the face of war and oppression. April 30, 2014 One spring day, dreading an afternoon appointment that will dredge up all kinds of terrible memories, the speaker of the poem focuses on the natural world around her. 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. Death of a Young Son by Drowning Blurring time but clarifying feeling, this poem gives voice to a mother who loses a son and gains a country. The Problem With Being a Box Too Small for Its Contents Misch expounds the unbearable work needed after a breakup: to separate from your lost love and “rejoin yourselves…even when you don’t want to.” niya A physical encounter with a stranger ignites a fire of emotions about how to express the trauma of settlement and life in a colonial, urban environment. Community Garden Seeking to escape internet trolls the speaker turns her eye to the garden The Trick The body and the mind are intimately linked and cannot be divorced from each other. 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. from Cross River . Pick Lotus Sometimes a simple wish granted, especially a final one, can change everything. Where There’s a Wall Both beauty and violence are just on the other side of the wall. Homage to the Mineral of the Onion (I) Could a vegetable be the antidote to war? This poem thinks so. from “Road Shoulders” the shoulder of the road gleams with the poet's attention World Town Layers of memory paint a moving, vibrant portrait of one man’s time spent in a seaside town with his father. Buen Esqueleto With its allusions and repetitions, “Buen Esqueleto” speaks powerfully on behalf of families caught in the contemporary U.S. border conflict. Top The poet remembers a father lost long before his death. From One and Half of You Trying on traditional clothing and finding how it fits. Or not. Insomnia A dark, playful twist on what someone would do if they could only sleep… Too Negative Have your friends’ parents ever warned them away from you because they thought you were a bad influence? “Too Negative” is a poem about that experience. Two Hours on the Train In this deceptively simple poem, a poet on a journey transcends time. The Blue Guitar In this glosa poem, P.K. Page strums out questions about being an artist and telling the truth. I Am The speaker longs to escape himself and to find freedom from within and without fluorine Rita Wong uncovers the poisons in everyday life to teach us about our relationship to the natural world. The Dead This sonnet considers the fragmented, elusive way the dead resurface in our lives. Pagination 1 2 3 4 Next › Next page Last » Last page Language English