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! Northern Light A poem about belonging when one doesn't feel like they are completely at home In Flanders Fields The dead summon us to action in this much-beloved poem of war. 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… Insomnia A dark, playful twist on what someone would do if they could only sleep… 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. Homage to the Mineral of the Onion (I) Could a vegetable be the antidote to war? This poem thinks so. Sometimes a Voice (1) On a hot summer afternoon, Danny jumped off the boathouse roof without thinking of the consequences. 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. For My Best Friend One way to grieve is to give tribute, perhaps even before the person you are grieving is completely gone. Two Words: A Wedding bpNichol presents life as a river of ever-changing words and asks us to step in. 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. fluorine Rita Wong uncovers the poisons in everyday life to teach us about our relationship to the natural world. 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. Poor Speaker Yep, the speaker gets what you're trying to say. Qawanguq with Fox Abigail Chabitnoy’s dreamscape of a poem depicts a coy little fox. A Breakfast for Barbarians Come sit at this mythical table where guests eat the world’s mysteries for breakfast. Five Postcards from Jericho Postcards to regret, to time, to anyone at all Before the Birth of One of Her Children This frank, devout poem confronts the risks facing a 17th-century woman in childbirth. Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong In this tender poem of healing, care and remembrance, Ocean Vuong reaches out to his younger self. Guanahani, 11 This bracing ballad (re)considers the beauty and history of the Caribbean island where Christopher Columbus first landed. At the Centre In this poem of a woman in deep repose, her seeds of self-care begin to blossom. 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 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. World Town Layers of memory paint a moving, vibrant portrait of one man’s time spent in a seaside town with his father. Thou Poem A poet reveals the happiest and unhappiest parts of their poetry – in conversation with a poem. 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. The Potato Harvest This lonely poem is about so much more than a bare field. 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. Where There’s a Wall Both beauty and violence are just on the other side of the wall. 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.” Modestine A woman writes a tender poem about her dad’s struggle with dementia. 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. Picking Up a Dandelion A short and poignant poem, stretching out a brief moment of beauty. Community Garden Seeking to escape internet trolls the speaker turns her eye to the garden 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? “Breathe dust…” Nearly punctuation-free, this is a breathless journey through memories of a youth spent in rural Canada. I Have Something to Tell You In this surreal poem, a man made of cameras brings his unexpected concerns into sharper focus. 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? 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 The New Experience Join the speaker on a whirlwind journey towards a surprising realization. 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