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! Beat! Beat! Drums! With rich bombastic language and Whitman's trademark sprawling lines, this poem rallies troops for war. My Brother at 3 A.M. A pervasive sense of paranoia threads itself through the quiet night of this poem. The Bow What flows through a name, and a name, and a name? I Have Something to Tell You In this surreal poem, a man made of cameras brings his unexpected concerns into sharper focus. Blank Sonnet Set in Halifax of the 1930s, this sensual, inebriated love poem plays with the sonnet form. The Tyger In the woods at night, the speaker talks to a magical animal… A Breakfast for Barbarians Come sit at this mythical table where guests eat the world’s mysteries for breakfast. For My Best Friend One way to grieve is to give tribute, perhaps even before the person you are grieving is completely gone. A Stone Diary A love poem to a stone takes on deeper, rockier meanings. 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. Last Visit This poem invites you to discover the forms that outrage can take. Two Words: A Wedding bpNichol presents life as a river of ever-changing words and asks us to step in. Marshlands Quietly pause to take in the colours and sounds of a marsh. The Days of the Unicorns Phyllis Webb beautifully writes an ode to the majestic unicorn. 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. Laurentian Shield This portrait of a rocky, silent Canadian landscape speaks to the country’s limitations and its potential. Insomnia A dark, playful twist on what someone would do if they could only sleep… One Art When loss feels inevitable, sometimes the only thing to do is write it down… Full Metal Oji-Cree That’s ok, our robomocassins will outlive you nine times over. Picking Up a Dandelion A short and poignant poem, stretching out a brief moment of beauty. 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… 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. In Flanders Fields The dead summon us to action in this much-beloved poem of war. Dulce et Decorum Est Wilfred Owen brilliantly uses rhyme and meter in this brutal poem about a poison gas attack during WWI. The Blue Guitar In this glosa poem, P.K. Page strums out questions about being an artist and telling the truth. I Am The speaker longs to escape himself and to find freedom from within and without We Wear the Mask We Wear the Mask is a resilient and entrancing tug-of-war with external perceptions of self. How Not to Spill Do you hold your hands shut, or do you let everything spill out? 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.” Guanahani, 11 This bracing ballad (re)considers the beauty and history of the Caribbean island where Christopher Columbus first landed. 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. Application Form Identity is elusive. Maybe it doesn’t exist at all. The Bull Moose A moose's final, tortured moments unfold in a series of brutal images. 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 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. 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. Planet Earth P.K. Page sings the praises of planet earth through extended metaphor and delightful constraint. Low Tide on Grand Pré The setting sun gives rise to a treasured memory of Grand Pré in this somber, rhythmic poem. Before the Birth of One of Her Children This frank, devout poem confronts the risks facing a 17th-century woman in childbirth. Pagination « First First page ‹ Previous Previous page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next › Next page Last » Last page Language English