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! Marshlands Quietly pause to take in the colours and sounds of a marsh. I’ve Tasted My Blood In this thunderous poem, the speaker proclaims his rage, anguish, and hope in the face of war and oppression. The Swimmer’s Moment Will you choose to observe from the rim of the whirlpool, or its centre? The Bow What flows through a name, and a name, and a name? Editing the Prairie If the prairie was a written story, imagine the rejection letter it might get! 400: Coming Home You can’t help thinking about your life on a long stretch of highway. Last Visit This poem invites you to discover the forms that outrage can take. Echolalia Exploring the tension between desire and satisfaction, this is “a poem that you have to kiss your way through without being kissed,” says Williams. 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.” I Carried My Father Across the Sea An elegy, both surreal and heartfelt, that explores a son’s grief over his father’s death. 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. Pale Blue Cover In this nostalgic poem, the speaker reminisces about the author Matt Cohen. Laurentian Shield This portrait of a rocky, silent Canadian landscape speaks to the country’s limitations and its potential. 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. niya A physical encounter with a stranger ignites a fire of emotions about how to express the trauma of settlement and life in a colonial, urban environment. World Town Layers of memory paint a moving, vibrant portrait of one man’s time spent in a seaside town with his father. 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. Villanelle TO WRESTLE WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR POETIC LEGACY, WHY NOT WRITE A VILLANELLE? 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. Beat! Beat! Drums! With rich bombastic language and Whitman's trademark sprawling lines, this poem rallies troops for war. 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. 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. I Lost My Talk How can you speak your deepest truth in a language that doesn’t understand you? Sweet Like a Crow This tumbling, outrageous list poem is a backhanded ode to a child’s less-than-melodious singing voice. A Breakfast for Barbarians Come sit at this mythical table where guests eat the world’s mysteries for breakfast. The New Experience Join the speaker on a whirlwind journey towards a surprising realization. Sonoma A dreamlike sense of the uncanny hangs over this poem of an encounter on a coastal highway. 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. Buen Esqueleto With its allusions and repetitions, “Buen Esqueleto” speaks powerfully on behalf of families caught in the contemporary U.S. border conflict. Exculpatory Lilies ROOTED IN PROFOUND GRIEF, THIS POEM MAKES US LAUGH WHILE BREAKING OUR HEARTS. What Is Poetry Using only the letters in the title’s question, Holbrook generates a smorgasbord of weird and delightful answers. the knowing Connie Fife cryptically combines land and body in this poem exploring connection to place and past. Salmon Courage Deep bravery can emerge amid clashing familial hopes and truths. M. NourbeSe Philip shows us how. 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 Dulce et Decorum Est Wilfred Owen brilliantly uses rhyme and meter in this brutal poem about a poison gas attack during WWI. 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… the ghosts of women once girls Poet Aja Monet reveals both gladness and sadness from a little girl enraptured by literature. Before the Birth of One of Her Children This frank, devout poem confronts the risks facing a 17th-century woman in childbirth. the knowing Connie Fife cryptically combines land and body in this poem exploring connection to place and past. Application Form Identity is elusive. Maybe it doesn’t exist at all. Pagination « First First page ‹ Previous Previous page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next › Next page Last » Last page Language English