To help you find a poem, here are three online sources of quality poetry. Remember that you will need to defend the poem's quality in group work that day, so be sure to choose well.
Poems at Slate.com (each poem is read by the poet; a good way to decide if you like the way it sounds)
Canadian Poetry Online (from the University of Toronto library; a list of poets that links to poems from each one)
Poetry Daily Archive (alphabetical archive of poems by title; here you can look for an interesting title and see if you can find a poem you like)
IMPORTANT: Find the missing page from your assignment for writing a list poem in the first comment. It includes two sample poems from Grade 11 students and the original poem by Szymborska (which corrects a mistake on "to seek the least of all possible mistakes" instead of "to see." Be sure to take a look.
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A Note
Life is the only way
to get covered in leaves,
catch your breath on the sand,
rise on wings;
to be a dog,
or stroke its warm fur;
to tell pain
from everything it’s not;
to squeeze inside events,
dawdle in views,
to seek the least of all possible mistakes.
An extraordinary chance
to remember for a moment
a conversation held
with the lamp switched off;
and if only once
to stumble upon a stone,
end up soaked in one downpour or another,
mislay your keys in the grass;
and to follow a spark on the wind with your eyes;
and to keep on not knowing
something important.
— by Wislawa Szymborska
Published November, 2005 in The New Yorker.
Wislawa Szymborska died on February 1, 2012 at the age of 88. In 1996, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. She published approximately 350 poems in her lifetime (her final volume, Here, was published in 2009). “When asked why she had published so few poems, she said: "I have a trash can in my home.”
A Note
Life is the only way
to drown in spring grass,
enjoy Irish Cream in the morning,
stand on ice;
to be a tree,
or hide in its shade;
to find new
from everything it’s not;
to hug your love,
believe in dreams,
to look for answers to all possible questions.
An extraordinary chance
to remember for a moment
an ultrasound showing
a little wonder living in me;
and if only once
to encounter indifference,
end up reproaching yourself or others,
to forget your wallet in the store;
and to follow the lights in the fog with your eyes;
and to keep on not seeing
something important.
—English 11 Student; December, 2012 Reminder to Myself
Life is the only way
to get wet under the rain,
dress up elegant for an event
shine above all;
to be a doctor,
or the patient under his hand;
to tell truth
from everything it’s not;
to wear a ring on your finger,
change your past,
to seek the best chances in your life.
An extraordinary feeling
to remember for a while
the vow you said
while family and friends shared a tear;
and if only once
to take a risky shortcut,
end up far away from your goal,
misunderstand wisdom from an old man;
and to remember a chat from someone who passed away;
and to keep on believing in
many liars.
—English 12 Student; December, 2012
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