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! 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. 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. Salmon Courage Deep bravery can emerge amid clashing familial hopes and truths. M. NourbeSe Philip shows us how. 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. Community Garden Seeking to escape internet trolls the speaker turns her eye to the garden Marshlands Quietly pause to take in the colours and sounds of a marsh. The New Experience Join the speaker on a whirlwind journey towards a surprising realization. We Wear the Mask We Wear the Mask is a resilient and entrancing tug-of-war with external perceptions of self. 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. 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? One Art When loss feels inevitable, sometimes the only thing to do is write it down… A Breakfast for Barbarians Come sit at this mythical table where guests eat the world’s mysteries for breakfast. Where There’s a Wall Both beauty and violence are just on the other side of the wall. sturgeon Intense with empathy, the poem places poet and struggling fish in direct physical relation. Not the Music In Not in the Music, Crozier explores the inviolable: the sacred parts of ourselves that we cherish as personal sanctuaries. At the Centre In this poem of a woman in deep repose, her seeds of self-care begin to blossom. Application Form Identity is elusive. Maybe it doesn’t exist at all. Poor Speaker Yep, the speaker gets what you're trying to say. Editing the Prairie If the prairie was a written story, imagine the rejection letter it might get! 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. 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… 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 Trick The body and the mind are intimately linked and cannot be divorced from each other. I’ve Tasted My Blood In this thunderous poem, the speaker proclaims his rage, anguish, and hope in the face of war and oppression. 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. A Stone Diary A love poem to a stone takes on deeper, rockier meanings. 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.” Northern Light A poem about belonging when one doesn't feel like they are completely at home 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. Homage to the Mineral of the Onion (I) Could a vegetable be the antidote to war? This poem thinks so. Sonoma A dreamlike sense of the uncanny hangs over this poem of an encounter on a coastal highway. “Breathe dust…” Nearly punctuation-free, this is a breathless journey through memories of a youth spent in rural Canada. Passing into Storm Through an objective lens, this poem, which could be a trailer for a horror movie, describes a white man deliberately walking into a snow storm. To what end? Qawanguq with Fox Abigail Chabitnoy’s dreamscape of a poem depicts a coy little fox. 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. The Days of the Unicorns Phyllis Webb beautifully writes an ode to the majestic unicorn. Cold Solace Even after many months in the freezer, a honey cake calls up strong memories. The Blue Guitar In this glosa poem, P.K. Page strums out questions about being an artist and telling the truth. From Red Doc In this poem-as-a-conversation, a man and his mother consider how the past lives on in the present. Pagination 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next › Next page Last » Last page Language English