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! Not the Music In Not in the Music, Crozier explores the inviolable: the sacred parts of ourselves that we cherish as personal sanctuaries. Editing the Prairie If the prairie was a written story, imagine the rejection letter it might get! fluorine Rita Wong uncovers the poisons in everyday life to teach us about our relationship to the natural world. Editing the Prairie If the prairie was a written story, imagine the rejection letter it might get! A Breakfast for Barbarians Come sit at this mythical table where guests eat the world’s mysteries for breakfast. From Correspondences Anne Michaels challenges us to find new maps to think about old experiences. 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. Homage to the Mineral of the Onion (I) Could a vegetable be the antidote to war? This poem thinks so. 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. 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. Before the Birth of One of Her Children This frank, devout poem confronts the risks facing a 17th-century woman in childbirth. In Flanders Fields The dead summon us to action in this much-beloved poem of war. 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 Salmon Courage Deep bravery can emerge amid clashing familial hopes and truths. M. NourbeSe Philip shows us how. The Bull Moose A moose's final, tortured moments unfold in a series of brutal images. Application Form Identity is elusive. Maybe it doesn’t exist at all. Insomnia A dark, playful twist on what someone would do if they could only sleep… From Red Doc In this poem-as-a-conversation, a man and his mother consider how the past lives on in the present. Sweet Like a Crow This tumbling, outrageous list poem is a backhanded ode to a child’s less-than-melodious singing voice. 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. The Blue Guitar In this glosa poem, P.K. Page strums out questions about being an artist and telling the truth. Blank Sonnet Set in Halifax of the 1930s, this sensual, inebriated love poem plays with the sonnet form. For My Best Friend One way to grieve is to give tribute, perhaps even before the person you are grieving is completely gone. from Cross River . Pick Lotus Sometimes a simple wish granted, especially a final one, can change everything. 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 Beat! Beat! Drums! With rich bombastic language and Whitman's trademark sprawling lines, this poem rallies troops for war. 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. For My Best Friend One way to grieve is to give tribute, perhaps even before the person you are grieving is completely gone. Sometimes a Voice (1) On a hot summer afternoon, Danny jumped off the boathouse roof without thinking of the consequences. Homage to the Mineral of the Onion (I) Could a vegetable be the antidote to war? This poem thinks so. Marshlands Quietly pause to take in the colours and sounds of a marsh. 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. Sonoma A dreamlike sense of the uncanny hangs over this poem of an encounter on a coastal highway. The Lonely Land In this free verse poem, snapshots of a wild landscape show that beauty and conflict are not mutually exclusive — and that one may be derived from the other. Two Words: A Wedding bpNichol presents life as a river of ever-changing words and asks us to step in. a good day The poet recalls the day she heard her father would die. The Bow What flows through a name, and a name, and a name? Mantra of No Return It is possible to travel home when one has never been there. This poem does. 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.” Pagination 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next › Next page Last » Last page Language English