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! Plenty Who would have thought a trip to the grocery store could be so full of beauty? At the Centre In this poem of a woman in deep repose, her seeds of self-care begin to blossom. 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. Fast Commute Laurie Graham weathers an incongruous ice storm in this poem-excerpt that asks us to pause and understand that we are present here, “and with this understanding to start to hear.” susiya Music binds and refreshes community Two Words: A Wedding bpNichol presents life as a river of ever-changing words and asks us to step in. from Cross River . Pick Lotus Sometimes a simple wish granted, especially a final one, can change everything. “Breathe dust…” Nearly punctuation-free, this is a breathless journey through memories of a youth spent in rural Canada. I’ll Teach You Cree By sharing with us the untranslatable aspects of Cree culture, Scofield immerses the reader with the sensorial experiences that deepen the bonds of community. 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. 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 Trick The body and the mind are intimately linked and cannot be divorced from each other. 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. Common Magic Do you ever wonder how anything gets done when we’re all swirling in our own galaxies of thought and experience? This poem does too. 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. Dinosaur Economics In this poem, playful romanticization meets a stark awakening sturgeon Intense with empathy, the poem places poet and struggling fish in direct physical relation. 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. Picking Up a Dandelion A short and poignant poem, stretching out a brief moment of beauty. 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. 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 Two Hours on the Train In this deceptively simple poem, a poet on a journey transcends time. But I’m No One But I’m No one is a reflection on our tendency to fear death and the manifestation of this fear through uncanny beliefs. 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. 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 Blue Guitar In this glosa poem, P.K. Page strums out questions about being an artist and telling the truth. The Potato Harvest This lonely poem is about so much more than a bare field. One Art When loss feels inevitable, sometimes the only thing to do is write it down… Vancouver Lights This wartime poem looks out at Vancouver’s nighttime skyline and contemplates humanity. I Have Something to Tell You In this surreal poem, a man made of cameras brings his unexpected concerns into sharper focus. 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. Dulce et Decorum Est Wilfred Owen brilliantly uses rhyme and meter in this brutal poem about a poison gas attack during WWI. The Days of the Unicorns Phyllis Webb beautifully writes an ode to the majestic unicorn. Sweet Like a Crow This tumbling, outrageous list poem is a backhanded ode to a child’s less-than-melodious singing voice. 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. 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… Regardless This vibrant list poem celebrates the right to just Be. from Exhibits from the American Water Museum Natalie Diaz mourns the violence committed against the Mojave people (and by extension, Indigenous people across North America) and bodies of water, inextricably connected How Not to Spill Do you hold your hands shut, or do you let everything spill out? Pagination « First First page ‹ Previous Previous page 1 2 3 4 Next › Next page Last » Last page Language English