Contemporary Poetry

Creative City

to look, and not avert one's gaze;
that is where all the art is, the passion
and the city. people who do not look,
cannot see canvas, or poems or

notes for
happiness

art does not begin with art,
but in the eyes. the eyes are everything
when you look up at another,
and look away without a smile,

you have killed
everything you want to
bring home, oh citizen


I enjoyed this poem because it was very misleading. When i first read it, I did not like it. I thought it was a sensless poem, with no meaning. However the reason I did like it, is because it is open for interpretation. This poem forces you to read it several times and look for a deeper meaning, finding out what it truely means to you. After I read the poem a couple of times, I started to understand it. To me, it means that people do not look for the truer meaning in life. There are so many things that we just past by day to day, and never really study or take the time to appreciate. You are able to see something for what it really is when you take the time to look at it. I think that it means that everything in the world can be seen as art, and we have to be able to smile and appreciate it for what it is, no matter our perspective.
I like contemporary style of poetry. I like it because it is somewhat grammatically incorrect. I think that it adds a bit of spunk to it. Also, I like the fact that the poem is short. It sends a message but it doesnt drag on. It also has the ability to make you think.

The Lake by Alex Kupchak


Walking along the big, blue lake
I kindly see a small white snowflake
The sound of the water, sailing up to the rocks
Canadian Geese flying in flocks
The smell of the cold, fresh clean air
Blowing into my face, oh so bare
Icebergs falling from the cliff
People escaping but imagine if...
Footsteps of exploration trenching through
I look to the lake and it's bavarian blue
I touch the snow, my body shivers
Before we cross the short frozen river
The fun may be over but i won't forget
The memories that come which i shall never regret


I chose to reflect on this poem because it is very simple, but I liek the effect and the description. It has a basic ryhme scheme of AA BB and is very easy to follow. This relates to my exeperience of being at the lake because it paints an image in your head. My favourtie parts are when he describes the cold air. To me , the air on a cold day is the first thing you notice it is something that seeps through you right away, and I like how he used to word 'bare' to descrie it, because I thought that was very appropriate.I also like the part when he says "imagine if.." This allows the reader to be creative, and it allows their mind to wander with the situation. Because of this a vivid image is pictured because of the description. Overall I enjoyed the poem and I thought it represented the five senses well.

Sensory Experience Poem

Chilling, sunny, wintry, raw and natural day
Treading heavy footed along the frosted unbreakable ground
The land is a frozen statue, silent and aloof like an ice queen
Fresh spearmint wind blowing through my nose and filling my lungs
And tasting like a snow popsicle, but never melting in my mouth
Brave geese are the only other voyagers sharing this moment
Anchored in the icy water, exactly content
A gander breaks the silence with a honk, honk, honk
I feel small in the giant sky that surrounds me
Yet powerful and strong from the electric energy of the cold

Poem With Meter

anapest trimeter-

Brussel sprouts and cabage
Are things I dont adore,
Rather see the dentist
My tooth is oh so sore!

Mother says these veggies
Are good for growing tall,
I dont care if she's right
I'm perfect staying small!

A Ballad- Canada and Multiculturalism

I have a friend who speaks a language
I don’t understand
He dances to a different rhythm
From a far off land
His clothes and garments are uncommon
He stands out in my crowd
But we communicate with gestures
A common ground allowed

My country is his country now
The bloodshed left behind
I have imagined what his life was like
It’s impossible to mind
The iniquities, the loss, the war
in the place where he was born
we must accommodate my friend in need
with hope and fair accord


There’s no reason to be fearful
of what we do not know
we are able to learn new songs
and make the music flow
There’s a multi- layered symphony
Lines of empathy and trust
A society can be a rainbow
That’s true, complete and just


My friend and I are living free
I am me and he is he
We recognize the treasures
Of life with diversity
And celebrate the differences
And live with dignity
Our story defines freedom
Our song is harmony

Four Parts of Canada

Tall and strong, important member indeed,
Soon will fall from the maple tree.
Whisping blowing, and dancing as it winds,
A crisp new air, and a change of mind.
For months on end resting under thick ice,
As the children shovel snow and do their best to be nice.
Sounds of snowballs and hockey sticks slashing about,
Dodging through rocky mountain trees for an alternative route.
As one slowly fades away from this beautiful scene,
Returning to its home, which is sprouting in green.
The ice becomes thin and the water seeps through,
nature blooms all around, a start of something new.
Gone is the sweaters, pants and coats,
Replaced by the roaring engine of boats.
But the days become shorter and so sets the sun,
and another leave has fallen, the cyle is again begun.

Fox- John Bruce

Fox
The light that limped in lantern circles down the road
Lit the grass heaved ditches and the cobbled stars of stone,
And came upon it, bleeding in the stream's cold sleep;
Fox, red into fawn, sharp as a coin and ruined now.
While blind signals pilfered its garbling wit-
Spasm to spasm I watched, then touched its wetsmooth fur,
As it snapjawed at the air, splashed for a furious time,
Alive again in a newer fear, then blinked back to the old.
I, thinking that misery ended it, tilted my gun
And ended its misery. The lantern flicked through the leaves;
Green, back through the woods the light fumbled a path,
The stars hardened, and a fresh breeze screamed in the trees.