For Calling the Spirit Back from Wandering the Earth in Its Human Feet

The speaker acts as a mentor, imparting advice to the reader. Their tone is informal and conversational, rather than haughty and didactic. They begin with simple advice culled from daily life—stop eating processed foods, get off your phone—and shift to the metaphysical and spiritual. The poem uses the device of escalation, where banal instruction about daily life turns more complex and abstract. By starting with simple rather than abstract advice, the speaker may aim to draw the reader in.

The speaker’s advice encompasses three themes: forgive and ask forgiveness, ask help from human and non-human entities, and offer help to others in return. The poem gives insight into the poet’s philosophy of healing as a communal act.

The first lines of the poem are straight-forward. The speaker describes ordinary objects from daily life: “Put down that bag of potato chips, that white bread, that bottle of pop. / Turn off that cellphone, computer, and remote control” (Lines 1-2). Presumably, too much technology and processed foods are not nurturing. They distract people from more substantive pursuits, like connecting with nature.

Though the speaker’s advice becomes more abstract, it’s all related to a common theme: Self-love. One can practice self-love by not eating junk food. One can also love themselves by releasing shame and reclaiming one’s spirit. The idea of a lost spirit may represent a literal spirit, or it may be a metaphor for one’s sense of wholeness and joy. To reclaim this spirit, one can’t rely on one’s individual strength—one must ask for help. The speaker believes in a higher power, embodied by nature and protective “guardians” (Line 8).

The speaker uses personification to explain why connecting with the earth is helpful. With personification, the poet gives human qualities to inhuman things and objects. Harjo characterizes the earth as a conscious entity, benevolent toward human beings; the earth “has cared for you since you were a dream planting itself precisely within your parents’ desire” (Line 7). The earth is a caretaker, a maternal figure. It offers “cedar, sage, or other healing” (Line 18), as if it knows that people will hurt themselves or become injured and unclean. It has already created medicinal plants to help after one has been harmed or self-harmed.

The earth, according to the speaker, is connected to the spirit world, a world that exists outside of time. Just as the earth provides healing plants, those in the spirit world exist to guide human beings through a difficult journey. Harjo characterizes these spirits or guardians as beings who have infinite patience, who will wait for eternity for the spirit to come back—who will welcome the spirit, no matter how long it takes.

The speaker wants the reader to love themselves. One must address their spirit as they would “a beloved child” (Line-25). The speaker implies that most people do not do this and are reluctant to let go of shame. Releasing shame and reclaiming one’s spirit can be a lengthy process. The spirit “will need to sleep awhile after it is bathed and given clean clothes” (Line 27). On the level of metaphor, the speaker is explaining that a person needs to have patience and allow themselves to heal.

The speaker suggests a philosophy of generosity toward other humans. Being healed is not the last step of one’s journey. One should also help others find their way. Just as the earth has been generous and forgiving, it is the duty of the restored spirit to mimic these qualities, to provide help to others who are wandering “through the dark” (Line 30). The speaker posits a world where community and connection to other humans and nature is valued over individualism. One can be happy by emulating earth’s benevolence and forgiveness. In this world, a person learns to both ask for help and to give it, unconditionally. They engage in a relationship that is cyclical and ongoing, that will perpetuate itself the way the earth perpetuates life.