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! 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? 1992 Sometimes a scent or a site or a taste can sweep you up into the past. This finely honed narrative poem knows what that’s like. 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. 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. Money A museum coin collection prompts a reflection on the captivating nature of currency. I Am The speaker longs to escape himself and to find freedom from within and without My Poem Without Me in It Imagining herself removed from her own poem, a poet realizes how poetry gives her the space to create herself. sturgeon Intense with empathy, the poem places poet and struggling fish in direct physical relation. The New Experience Join the speaker on a whirlwind journey towards a surprising realization. the knowing Connie Fife cryptically combines land and body in this poem exploring connection to place and past. 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. Beat! Beat! Drums! With rich bombastic language and Whitman's trademark sprawling lines, this poem rallies troops for war. World Town Layers of memory paint a moving, vibrant portrait of one man’s time spent in a seaside town with his father. Two Words: A Wedding bpNichol presents life as a river of ever-changing words and asks us to step in. Buen Esqueleto With its allusions and repetitions, “Buen Esqueleto” speaks powerfully on behalf of families caught in the contemporary U.S. border conflict. Picking Up a Dandelion A short and poignant poem, stretching out a brief moment of beauty. people arrived Tracing and traveling with Kaie Kellough’s verse, the people in this poem plead to have their pulses read out loud. 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.” Other In Other, Livesay breaks free of patriarchy’s hold and ventures into landscapes of mountain, cedar forests, night skies, and the fierce interior of her spirit. Insomnia A dark, playful twist on what someone would do if they could only sleep… Community Garden Seeking to escape internet trolls the speaker turns her eye to the garden from Cross River . Pick Lotus Sometimes a simple wish granted, especially a final one, can change everything. Dulce et Decorum Est Wilfred Owen brilliantly uses rhyme and meter in this brutal poem about a poison gas attack during WWI. Before the Birth of One of Her Children This frank, devout poem confronts the risks facing a 17th-century woman in childbirth. At the Centre In this poem of a woman in deep repose, her seeds of self-care begin to blossom. Letters In this tender poem tracing a lost love, the speaker holds on by letting things go… The Trick The body and the mind are intimately linked and cannot be divorced from each other. From One and Half of You Trying on traditional clothing and finding how it fits. Or not. The Potato Harvest This lonely poem is about so much more than a bare field. Planet Earth P.K. Page sings the praises of planet earth through extended metaphor and delightful constraint. “Breathe dust…” Nearly punctuation-free, this is a breathless journey through memories of a youth spent in rural Canada. i am graffiti This poem vibrates with anger and defiance in the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 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 Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong In this tender poem of healing, care and remembrance, Ocean Vuong reaches out to his younger self. Sometimes a Voice (1) On a hot summer afternoon, Danny jumped off the boathouse roof without thinking of the consequences. These Poems, She Said Can an argument be the foundation of a love poem? Robert Bringhurst certainly thinks so! Reluctance Even after you’ve jumped all the fences, climbed all the hills, and looked at the world, it can be hard to accept how you feel… the ghosts of women once girls Poet Aja Monet reveals both gladness and sadness from a little girl enraptured by literature. Laurentian Shield This portrait of a rocky, silent Canadian landscape speaks to the country’s limitations and its potential. I Lost My Talk How can you speak your deepest truth in a language that doesn’t understand you? Pagination 1 2 3 4 Next › Next page Last » Last page Language English