Canadian Poets

I was thinking a lot about Canada and the growing legacy poets leave behind.

This is not the Tragically Hip 'Poets' for you. 

April (in five days) is National Poetry month which there is a lot of great Canadian poetry from coast to coast. 

During this time, there was a lot of different pieces of writing and talented writers who find inspiration from this great coast and I wanted to give them a platform (like this blog) to give their voices and make them heard.

Some of the collections you find are written in the in the Poetry Pause from the Canadian Pause last year. I'll share some of them now. If you are the poet and want me to take this down, please let me know. (via Instragram: 'Poetry Pause: 5 poems from July'. 

"This land currently called Canada" - by Susie Whelelan

"When I heard him say these words, 

I stopped rinsing my cereal bowl,

Stood still,

looked at the radio,

shook my head and smiled.

Of course,

"currently", 

not "now"

as if it was once Turtle Island and will be 

Canada forever, but

"currently",

for the time being--

in this river of time and impermanence,

this time of reconciliation

with Indigenous peoples

and with the land itself,

currently called Canada"

"Downtown" - by Banoo Zan

"The sparrows on the pavement

on my way --

did move a bit

but didn't fly away

There is a way to

be together 

in this world --

There is a way"

"Day Break Fast" - by kjmunro

"don a fleece jacket

for a walk before brunch

distant hills 

still loosely wrapped in damp blue

autumn mist rises off the Yukon River

steam from a cup of coffee

leaves crunch underfoot

granola

twigs snap

dry toast

horizontal rays of golden sun syrup

slant through trees stacked on the hillside

pour into the valley

a warming breeze stirs

hunger

eat it up"

"In Silence" - by Susan Ksiezopolski

"make friends with the sky

and the ground beneath your feet

as the voice of leaves blares in the wind

step bravely into the dark night's stillness

welcome its invitation to look up

and forgo the way you know

retreat from conversation

listen for the rustle of the forest

as your curled toes caress the earth"

Take a moment for yourself to read these wonderful poems and if you want more Canadian poems like this, please visit their website, poets canada. 

Quote from Claude Monet