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

This poem is written in free verse, lacking a regular meter or rhyme scheme. Many modern poets use this form. It mimics the more informal quality of regular speech and makes poems feel more accessible and easier to understand. Harjo abjures more formal qualities such as rhyme, meter, and line breaks. Instead, each sentence reads to the end of the margins and only breaks where the margins dictate. This mimics typical prose writing.

Unlike prose writing, Harjo makes liberal use of stanza breaks, grouping ideas into short paragraphs and letting other lines stand alone to draw attention to themselves. This variation of short paragraphs and independently floating sentences creates rhythm and musicality. At the same time, the informal tone makes the reader feel that the speaker is addressing them in conversation.

Many of Harjo’s poems address the reader directly. This establishes intimacy, helping the reader feel the poem is meant for them. It also implies that the speaker’s advice is universal; that all of us suffer from a wandering spirit. The speaker addresses the reader as if they know that the reader is already lost, that their spirit is wandering the world.