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! 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.” sturgeon Intense with empathy, the poem places poet and struggling fish in direct physical relation. people arrived Tracing and traveling with Kaie Kellough’s verse, the people in this poem plead to have their pulses read out loud. 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 Swimmer’s Moment Will you choose to observe from the rim of the whirlpool, or its centre? We Wear the Mask We Wear the Mask is a resilient and entrancing tug-of-war with external perceptions of self. Money A museum coin collection prompts a reflection on the captivating nature of currency. What Is Poetry Using only the letters in the title’s question, Holbrook generates a smorgasbord of weird and delightful answers. From Correspondences Anne Michaels challenges us to find new maps to think about old experiences. The Bull Moose A moose's final, tortured moments unfold in a series of brutal images. from “Road Shoulders” the shoulder of the road gleams with the poet's attention Insomnia A dark, playful twist on what someone would do if they could only sleep… Where There’s a Wall Both beauty and violence are just on the other side of the wall. from Cross River . Pick Lotus Sometimes a simple wish granted, especially a final one, can change everything. For My Best Friend One way to grieve is to give tribute, perhaps even before the person you are grieving is completely gone. Modestine A woman writes a tender poem about her dad’s struggle with dementia. 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. 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. “Breathe dust…” Nearly punctuation-free, this is a breathless journey through memories of a youth spent in rural Canada. 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? The New Experience Join the speaker on a whirlwind journey towards a surprising realization. I’ll Teach You Cree By sharing with us the untranslatable aspects of Cree culture, Scofield immerses the reader with the sensorial experiences that deepen the bonds of community. Buen Esqueleto With its allusions and repetitions, “Buen Esqueleto” speaks powerfully on behalf of families caught in the contemporary U.S. border conflict. Too Negative Have your friends’ parents ever warned them away from you because they thought you were a bad influence? “Too Negative” is a poem about that experience. 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. Blank Sonnet Set in Halifax of the 1930s, this sensual, inebriated love poem plays with the sonnet form. Late Prayer Erin Robinsong delivers a quiet and fierce prayer for life on Earth in an age of ecological destruction and oligarchical domination I Have Something to Tell You In this surreal poem, a man made of cameras brings his unexpected concerns into sharper focus. 400: Coming Home You can’t help thinking about your life on a long stretch of highway. Regardless This vibrant list poem celebrates the right to just Be. 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. A Breakfast for Barbarians Come sit at this mythical table where guests eat the world’s mysteries for breakfast. 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. I Am The speaker longs to escape himself and to find freedom from within and without Marshlands Quietly pause to take in the colours and sounds of a marsh. Dear Updike Evelyn Lau powerfully describes the world around her in order to grieve the loss of a beloved writer. dont worry yr hair Having a bad day? This uplifting poem about the power of our inner potential should light a spark. Tide Both stark and tender, this poem is about Reena Virk, a BC teen of South Asian descent who was assaulted and murdered by her peers in 1997. the ghosts of women once girls Poet Aja Monet reveals both gladness and sadness from a little girl enraptured by literature. Planet Earth P.K. Page sings the praises of planet earth through extended metaphor and delightful constraint. Language English