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! 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. My Grandmother Washes Her Feet in the Sink of the Bathroom at Sears A clash of cultures in a department store bathroom showcases pride and power in the towns matrons as well as the space in the middle where the speaker lives I’ve Tasted My Blood In this thunderous poem, the speaker proclaims his rage, anguish, and hope in the face of war and oppression. 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. i am graffiti This poem vibrates with anger and defiance in the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Vancouver Lights This wartime poem looks out at Vancouver’s nighttime skyline and contemplates humanity. 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. 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. Letters In this tender poem tracing a lost love, the speaker holds on by letting things go… In Flanders Fields The dead summon us to action in this much-beloved poem of war. 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. Cold Solace Even after many months in the freezer, a honey cake calls up strong memories. From One and Half of You Trying on traditional clothing and finding how it fits. Or not. 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 My Papa’s Waltz The poet writes a complex poem about his relationship with his father. Mantra of No Return It is possible to travel home when one has never been there. This poem does. Thou Poem A poet reveals the happiest and unhappiest parts of their poetry – in conversation with a poem. Laurentian Shield This portrait of a rocky, silent Canadian landscape speaks to the country’s limitations and its potential. World Town Layers of memory paint a moving, vibrant portrait of one man’s time spent in a seaside town with his father. 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. 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.” a good day The poet recalls the day she heard her father would die. Before the Birth of One of Her Children This frank, devout poem confronts the risks facing a 17th-century woman in childbirth. 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.” Beat! Beat! Drums! With rich bombastic language and Whitman's trademark sprawling lines, this poem rallies troops for war. 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. What Is Poetry Using only the letters in the title’s question, Holbrook generates a smorgasbord of weird and delightful answers. Dear Updike Evelyn Lau powerfully describes the world around her in order to grieve the loss of a beloved writer. 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. the knowing Connie Fife cryptically combines land and body in this poem exploring connection to place and past. The Bull Moose A moose's final, tortured moments unfold in a series of brutal images. Salmon Courage Deep bravery can emerge amid clashing familial hopes and truths. M. NourbeSe Philip shows us how. 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 ghosts of women once girls Poet Aja Monet reveals both gladness and sadness from a little girl enraptured by literature. At the Centre In this poem of a woman in deep repose, her seeds of self-care begin to blossom. 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. 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. I saw a perfect tree today Lillian Allen praises the rampant diversity of trees in Northern Ontario and asks us to see perfection in difference. 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. “Breathe dust…” Nearly punctuation-free, this is a breathless journey through memories of a youth spent in rural Canada. Pagination 1 2 3 4 Next › Next page Last » Last page Language English