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.