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! How Not to Spill Do you hold your hands shut, or do you let everything spill out? Letters In this tender poem tracing a lost love, the speaker holds on by letting things go… 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? From One and Half of You Trying on traditional clothing and finding how it fits. Or not. Five Postcards from Jericho Postcards to regret, to time, to anyone at all Plenty Who would have thought a trip to the grocery store could be so full of beauty? From Correspondences Anne Michaels challenges us to find new maps to think about old experiences. 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. Thou Poem A poet reveals the happiest and unhappiest parts of their poetry – in conversation with a poem. We Wear the Mask We Wear the Mask is a resilient and entrancing tug-of-war with external perceptions of self. From Red Doc In this poem-as-a-conversation, a man and his mother consider how the past lives on in the present. Homage to the Mineral of the Onion (I) Could a vegetable be the antidote to war? This poem thinks so. 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. Before the Birth of One of Her Children This frank, devout poem confronts the risks facing a 17th-century woman in childbirth. World Town Layers of memory paint a moving, vibrant portrait of one man’s time spent in a seaside town with his father. 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 Vancouver Lights This wartime poem looks out at Vancouver’s nighttime skyline and contemplates humanity. The Swimmer’s Moment Will you choose to observe from the rim of the whirlpool, or its centre? Fear of Snakes The life of a snake and the memory of girlhood trauma are told in sinuously entwined language. from Cross River . Pick Lotus Sometimes a simple wish granted, especially a final one, can change everything. My Brother at 3 A.M. A pervasive sense of paranoia threads itself through the quiet night of this poem. dont worry yr hair Having a bad day? This uplifting poem about the power of our inner potential should light a spark. The Days of the Unicorns Phyllis Webb beautifully writes an ode to the majestic unicorn. Chemo Side Effects: Memory The stop-start, grasping form of this poem mirrors the speaker's struggle to reconcile herself with one of the side effects of cancer treatment. 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. Tide Both stark and tender, this poem is about Reena Virk, a BC teen of South Asian descent who was assaulted and murdered by her peers in 1997. Dulce et Decorum Est Wilfred Owen brilliantly uses rhyme and meter in this brutal poem about a poison gas attack during WWI. Laurentian Shield This portrait of a rocky, silent Canadian landscape speaks to the country’s limitations and its potential. My Papa’s Waltz The poet writes a complex poem about his relationship with his father. I Have Something to Tell You In this surreal poem, a man made of cameras brings his unexpected concerns into sharper focus. Pale Blue Cover In this nostalgic poem, the speaker reminisces about the author Matt Cohen. Application Form Identity is elusive. Maybe it doesn’t exist at all. Declaration of Intent Rita Wong invokes the "sacred bond" of water in this poem that invites us to learn from watersheds, and to act in their defense. I Am The speaker longs to escape himself and to find freedom from within and without The New Experience Join the speaker on a whirlwind journey towards a surprising realization. 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. Money A museum coin collection prompts a reflection on the captivating nature of currency. In Flanders Fields The dead summon us to action in this much-beloved poem of war. 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. Pagination 1 2 3 4 Next › Next page Last » Last page Language English