The Echoes poetry competition to celebrate Write Out Loud's 20th anniversary is now open.  Judged by Neil Astley.

Competition closes in 6 days, 4 hours. Get details and Enter.

Popular last 30 days

poetry love Trump democracy resistance War life authoritarianism History poem

Canada (Remove filter)

The Chokehold of Two Tyrants!

As Donald Trump returns to the White House once more in exactly 8 days, his alliance with Elon Musk and authoritarian tactics signal a dangerous reshaping of global power. With threats of tariffs, sanctions, and intimidation, Trump wants to force nations into compliance, from Canada to Europe, while pursuing his boldest ambition yet—annexing or buying Greenland. His reign will be marked by empty p...

Read and leave comments (1)

🌷(3) 

Trump   Musk   Canada   Greenland   Panama   authoritarianism   global power   sanctions   tariffs   resistance   political coercion   tyranny   world backlash   global instability   geopolitical tension   power struggle

Trump’s Caesarian Megalomania

In a world teetering on the brink of geopolitical upheaval, the specter of Trump’s "Caesarian Megalomania" looms large. This poem explores the audacious ambitions of a leader seeking to claim sovereignty over Greenland, Panama, and even Canada, driven by an insatiable thirst for control. A call to arms against unchecked power, it challenges the very essence of freedom and unity in a world that mus...

Read and leave comments (0)

Trump   megalomania   geopolitical conflict   sovereignty   Greenland   Panama Canal   Canada   territorial expansion   power   unity   resistance   world peace   international law   military threats   global politics   Cæsarism   ambition   dystopia

Canada

I remember us in the tall
  of balconied condominiums over there.
I remember the seemingly rainbowy effect 
drawing us towards new clothes & music for sale
in exquisite gigantesque shopping malls, the
trust we will be hearing a hello, and have a nice
day tune from shop assistants at every shop door, 
where billboards above advertised albums by Beyonce, 
fragrances, and films, us becoming f...

Read and leave comments (2)

🌷(7) 

Canada   Holiday   Memory   Birthday

The Pig Butcher

The Pig Butcher

 

Pickton pulled the trigger. 

finished her off. 

Her crime was bigger,

Left in a trough.

 

Squeals of delight,

Grinding her down,

Hidden from sight,

Miles from town.

 

Ribbons of flesh,

entrails, sinew and bone 

Minced through mesh,

Can’t hear her moan.

 

Empty roads wet with rain,

Deserted, discarded dead.

Silence screams p...

Read and leave comments (0)

🌷(2) 

Murder   butcher   serial killer   Canada   infamous

De Jeune

 

Sometimes, inspiration and imagination have strange effects.

 

De Jeune

 

Swallows dive, swoon

like wind-swayed ink drops

down, and beyond the light:

 

swallowed by the sky,

flown blue, over

road-birds – honed

by simple flight.

 

Like arrows in Canada

in thunderhead afternoons:

clouds rolling, rutting hinds

in migration, pounding sand-trails,

...

Read and leave comments (0)

arrows   Autumn   Canada   drops   dust   hail   horizon   Jeune   migration   mirage   road-birds   steel   swallowed   swallows   wheat   willow

Black Bear

Black Bear

 

like a hobo

walking down a train track

in a slow lumbering gait

we pace with you

coming in and out of view

between dense foliage

that separates the myth

from the reality

 

fingers point

hushed reverent voices

intone the chant

a bear, a bear

but this is not

some overstuffed facsimile

bought in a tourist shop

this is the real deal

...

Read and leave comments (2)

black bear   canada   tourists   familiarisation threat   cull   holiday encounter

totem

totem

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

maple wood smoke

drifts across the pine

and firs curling

into Inuit ghosts

that pace stealthily

from tree to tree

towering totems carved with bird

wolf bear and snakehead

calling to the old gods

that we were here

we lived and died in these

ancient forests

silver river slit...

Read and leave comments (4)

canada   vancouver   native american gods   inuit   native american   totem pole   stanley park   first nations

Lair Of The Snow Spider

Lair Of The Snow Spider

 

there are domains so deep

that no one will tread

so dark that they are blind

in these dank places

the air is still and

sound is soft and mute

 

into this darkness

snow falls

settling in the nooks

and crannies

dusting the branches

with its ice grasp

 

can you hear it

the soft sly scuttle

of a many l...

Read and leave comments (3)

snow   spider   forest   bannf   canada   fantasy realms   trapped   web

The Hoodoos

The Hoodoos

 

Under Sulphur Mountain’s

sedimentary gaze,

the great Bow River

slithers like a serpent,

its milky green waters

spitting and striking

at the soft banks -

a venomous erosion

amid the cascades

foaming tumult.

The mighty Cree

etched totem poles

the size of these great

spruce and fir,

back-lit by the waning

Wolf Moon.

...

Read and leave comments (0)

bow river   sulphur mountain   native american   bannf   hoodoos   canada   mysticism

My work recognized by the Child Abuse Monument in Canada

The video of my Poem 'Our Silence', my hand print and my Book 'Whispers From Within' that will be placed inside the Child Abuse Monument in Canada, is featured front and centre on the StoryProject page, on the Child Abuse Monuments website. My work has been recognized by them before, and by the main person who created the Monument: a Dr. Michael C. Irving. I was also asked to do a little video ...

Read and leave comments (2)

child abuse monument   child abuse   poet   poem   poetry   John Harrison   canada

This site uses only functional cookies that are essential to the operation of the site. We do not use cookies related to advertising or tracking. By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Find out more Hide this message