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! 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 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. We Wear the Mask We Wear the Mask is a resilient and entrancing tug-of-war with external perceptions of self. Before the Birth of One of Her Children This frank, devout poem confronts the risks facing a 17th-century woman in childbirth. Not the Music In Not in the Music, Crozier explores the inviolable: the sacred parts of ourselves that we cherish as personal sanctuaries. 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.” Un Docteur Anglophone Traduit Les Inquiétudes De Son Patient Avec Google/An English Speaking Doctor Translates the Concerns of his Patient with Google This bilingual poem expresses the limitations of understanding across languages when experiences become lost in translation. An Innocent Little Girl • Favzieh Rahgozar Barlas captures a snapshot of child marriage, its cultural and economic context, and its physical and emotional aftermath. 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? susiya Music binds and refreshes community From One and Half of You Trying on traditional clothing and finding how it fits. Or not. the ghosts of women once girls Poet Aja Monet reveals both gladness and sadness from a little girl enraptured by literature. 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. 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 The Bull Moose A moose's final, tortured moments unfold in a series of brutal images. Dear Updike Evelyn Lau powerfully describes the world around her in order to grieve the loss of a beloved writer. Poor Speaker Yep, the speaker gets what you're trying to say Community Garden Seeking to escape internet trolls the speaker turns her eye to the garden I’ve Tasted My Blood In this thunderous poem, the speaker proclaims his rage, anguish, and hope in the face of war and oppression. From thirsty In this delicate and brutal poem, the line between the speaker’s body and the city of Toronto blurs. From Correspondences Anne Michaels challenges us to find new maps to think about old experiences. Mantra of No Return It is possible to travel home when one has never been there. This poem does. from Cross River . Pick Lotus Sometimes a simple wish granted, especially a final one, can change everything. 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. Application Form Identity is elusive. Maybe it doesn’t exist at all. Vancouver Lights This wartime poem looks out at Vancouver’s nighttime skyline and contemplates humanity. 400: Coming Home You can’t help thinking about your life on a long stretch of highway. 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 Bow What flows through a name, and a name, and a name? The Dead This sonnet considers the fragmented, elusive way the dead resurface in our lives. Insomnia A dark, playful twist on what someone would do if they could only sleep… Five Postcards from Jericho Postcards to regret, to time, to anyone at all Modestine A woman writes a tender poem about her dad’s struggle with dementia. 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. Where There’s a Wall Both beauty and violence are just on the other side of the wall. The New Experience Join the speaker on a whirlwind journey towards a surprising realization. A Breakfast for Barbarians Come sit at this mythical table where guests eat the world’s mysteries for breakfast. 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. Guanahani, 11 This bracing ballad (re)considers the beauty and history of the Caribbean island where Christopher Columbus first landed. Language English