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! 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. Homage to the Mineral of the Onion (I) Could a vegetable be the antidote to war? This poem thinks so. 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. 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? Guanahani, 11 This bracing ballad (re)considers the beauty and history of the Caribbean island where Christopher Columbus first landed. The Bull Moose A moose's final, tortured moments unfold in a series of brutal images. The Dead This sonnet considers the fragmented, elusive way the dead resurface in our lives. Dear Updike Evelyn Lau powerfully describes the world around her in order to grieve the loss of a beloved writer. 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. A Breakfast for Barbarians Come sit at this mythical table where guests eat the world’s mysteries for breakfast. 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. At the Centre In this poem of a woman in deep repose, her seeds of self-care begin to blossom. Plenty Who would have thought a trip to the grocery store could be so full of beauty? 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 the knowing Connie Fife cryptically combines land and body in this poem exploring connection to place and past. 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. 400: Coming Home You can’t help thinking about your life on a long stretch of highway. fluorine Rita Wong uncovers the poisons in everyday life to teach us about our relationship to the natural world. Before the Birth of One of Her Children This frank, devout poem confronts the risks facing a 17th-century woman in childbirth. Sonoma A dreamlike sense of the uncanny hangs over this poem of an encounter on a coastal highway. Dulce et Decorum Est Wilfred Owen brilliantly uses rhyme and meter in this brutal poem about a poison gas attack during WWI. I’ve Tasted My Blood In this thunderous poem, the speaker proclaims his rage, anguish, and hope in the face of war and oppression. Community Garden Seeking to escape internet trolls the speaker turns her eye to the garden 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. Two Words: A Wedding bpNichol presents life as a river of ever-changing words and asks us to step in. Dear Updike Evelyn Lau powerfully describes the world around her in order to grieve the loss of a beloved writer. Picking Up a Dandelion A short and poignant poem, stretching out a brief moment of beauty. The Powwow at the End of the World Sherman Alexie slams the environmental destruction of settler-colonialism as we travel on an upstream course towards the powwow at the end of the world. the knowing Connie Fife cryptically combines land and body in this poem exploring connection to place and past. Marshlands Quietly pause to take in the colours and sounds of a marsh. Two Hours on the Train In this deceptively simple poem, a poet on a journey transcends time. 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? Parable of the Eagle In this poem, an unlikely guest in the form of an eagle finds itself in a farmer’s hen house, resulting in an unexpected ending. In Flanders Fields The dead summon us to action in this much-beloved poem of war. Blank Sonnet Set in Halifax of the 1930s, this sensual, inebriated love poem plays with the sonnet form. 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? a good day The poet recalls the day she heard her father would die. 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. The Trick The body and the mind are intimately linked and cannot be divorced from each other. 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 5 6 Next › Next page Last » Last page Language English