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! Yellowjacket “Yellowjacket” explores the eerie way the dead make themselves at home in our lives. A Stone Diary A love poem to a stone takes on deeper, rockier meanings. 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 Days of the Unicorns Phyllis Webb beautifully writes an ode to the majestic unicorn. 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 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. Sonoma A dreamlike sense of the uncanny hangs over this poem of an encounter on a coastal highway. Regardless This vibrant list poem celebrates the right to just Be. Radishes Ange Mlinko’s consideration of the radish introduces a constellation of characters and feelings, inviting reflection on nostalgia and the passing of time. My Brother at 3 A.M. A pervasive sense of paranoia threads itself through the quiet night of this poem. The Days of the Unicorns Phyllis Webb beautifully writes an ode to the majestic unicorn. sturgeon Intense with empathy, the poem places poet and struggling fish in direct physical relation. 400: Coming Home You can’t help thinking about your life on a long stretch of highway. Dinosaur Economics In this poem, playful romanticization meets a stark awakening the ghosts of women once girls Poet Aja Monet reveals both gladness and sadness from a little girl enraptured by literature. 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. Guanahani, 11 This bracing ballad (re)considers the beauty and history of the Caribbean island where Christopher Columbus first landed. Not the Music In Not in the Music, Crozier explores the inviolable: the sacred parts of ourselves that we cherish as personal sanctuaries. The Dead This sonnet considers the fragmented, elusive way the dead resurface in our lives. Dulce et Decorum Est Wilfred Owen brilliantly uses rhyme and meter in this brutal poem about a poison gas attack during WWI. Aliens Visit the Islands In “Aliens Visit the Islands,” Terese Mason Pierre describes an extraterrestrial landing in the Caribbean that subverts familiar sci-fi tropes. 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. A Stone Diary A love poem to a stone takes on deeper, rockier meanings. 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. 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. Dear Updike Evelyn Lau powerfully describes the world around her in order to grieve the loss of a beloved writer. Pale Blue Cover In this nostalgic poem, the speaker reminisces about the author Matt Cohen. Northern Light A poem about belonging when one doesn't feel like they are completely at home I Lost My Talk How can you speak your deepest truth in a language that doesn’t understand you? i am graffiti This poem vibrates with anger and defiance in the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 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.” I Have Something to Tell You In this surreal poem, a man made of cameras brings his unexpected concerns into sharper focus. 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. Villanelle TO WRESTLE WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR POETIC LEGACY, WHY NOT WRITE A VILLANELLE? Homage to the Mineral of the Onion (I) Could a vegetable be the antidote to war? This poem thinks so. 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. The Fish A dreamy poem diving into oceanic imagery, exploring time and change. Where There’s a Wall Both beauty and violence are just on the other side of the wall. Pagination « First First page ‹ Previous Previous page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next › Next page Last » Last page Language English