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! Aliens Visit the Islands In “Aliens Visit the Islands,” Terese Mason Pierre describes an extraterrestrial landing in the Caribbean that subverts familiar sci-fi tropes. 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. Happy Birthday Moon “Happy Birthday Moon” is a pantoum poem that captures a tender moment of a father reading a story with his deaf son. 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. Blank Sonnet Set in Halifax of the 1930s, this sensual, inebriated love poem plays with the sonnet form. From Red Doc In this poem-as-a-conversation, a man and his mother consider how the past lives on in the present. 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. Sweet Like a Crow This tumbling, outrageous list poem is a backhanded ode to a child’s less-than-melodious singing voice. My Papa’s Waltz The poet writes a complex poem about his relationship with his father. Yellowjacket “Yellowjacket” explores the eerie way the dead make themselves at home in our lives. Vancouver Lights This wartime poem looks out at Vancouver’s nighttime skyline and contemplates humanity. I Am The speaker longs to escape himself and to find freedom from within and without An English Speaking Doctor Translates the Concerns of his Patient with Google/Un Docteur Anglophone Traduit Les Inquiétudes De Son Patient Avec Google This bilingual poem expresses the limitations of understanding across languages when experiences become lost in translation. A Fixed Idea Musical and haunting, Amy Lowell’s “A Fixed Idea” is a sonnet that speaks to pain and conflict. 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? Yellowjacket “Yellowjacket” explores the eerie way the dead make themselves at home in our lives. the knowing Connie Fife cryptically combines land and body in this poem exploring connection to place and past. In Exile I Draw the Tower Card A poem that explores the loss of taken-for-granted abilities that lead to existential questions about oneself. Late Prayer Erin Robinsong delivers a quiet and fierce prayer for life on Earth in an age of ecological destruction and oligarchical domination The Tyger In the woods at night, the speaker talks to a magical animal… The Bow What flows through a name, and a name, and a name? From One and Half of You Trying on traditional clothing and finding how it fits. Or not. Childhood For Aracelis Girmay, “Childhood” is a place we can visit in our memories—and perhaps a place that moves on without us. 400: Coming Home You can’t help thinking about your life on a long stretch of highway. Journey of the Magi One of the three wise men who travelled to Bethlehem upon the birth of Jesus Christ describes his version of the story and the emotional upheaval he experiences from witnessing a miracle that shatters his previous beliefs and way of life. Let the Ponies Out In this poem, a dramatic monologue, the speaker implores their father to do something both real and more real in its imagining. I’ve Tasted My Blood In this thunderous poem, the speaker proclaims his rage, anguish, and hope in the face of war and oppression. Laurentian Shield This portrait of a rocky, silent Canadian landscape speaks to the country’s limitations and its potential. 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. One Art When loss feels inevitable, sometimes the only thing to do is write it down… Dear Updike Evelyn Lau powerfully describes the world around her in order to grieve the loss of a beloved writer. the knowing Connie Fife cryptically combines land and body in this poem exploring connection to place and past. 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. fluorine Rita Wong uncovers the poisons in everyday life to teach us about our relationship to the natural world. Journey of the Magi One of the three wise men who travelled to Bethlehem upon the birth of Jesus Christ describes his version of the story and the emotional upheaval he experiences from witnessing a miracle that shatters his previous beliefs and way of life. Top The poet remembers a father lost long before his death. These Poems, She Said Can an argument be the foundation of a love poem? Robert Bringhurst certainly thinks so! 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.” 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? 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. 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