“… Remember you are this universe and this
universe is you.
Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember language comes from this.
Remember the dance language is, that life is.
Remember.”—Joy Harjo, from “Remember”
One of the things I have always loved about poetry is that it can capture complex ideas and truths in language that speaks directly to the heart and to the heart of the matter. Visual art can do that, too, but it is harder to grasp in language if you want to share with someone else the insight it offered to you. And, honestly, I just love the way poets are able to weave language into something so beautiful and different from our daily speech.
Joy Harjo’s poem “Remember” touched me today with its profound call to remember our interconnectedness with all of creation and with the generations we touch through time. About our non-human kin, she admonishes us:
“Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their
tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,
listen to them. They are alive poems.”
They are alive poems—what a wonderful image!
If you would like to experience the full poem, it can be found here. There are also a number of YouTube videos of “Remember,” several with music and lovely natural settings with a voice-over of the poem. I am often interested in the poet’s own interpretation, so here is a link for a video of Joy Harjo reading “Remember.”
—Jenifer Hanson, Prairiewoods director