When the World as We Knew It Ended

The poem opens with the communal “We” (Line 1), indicating that the poem will explore a communal experience, something that affected multiple people simultaneously. The poem situates the reader in a specific time and place, designating the moment of the poem as a specific event: “We were dreaming on an occupied island at the farthest edge / of a trembling nation when it went down” (Lines 1 -2). The poem does not name the event. The phrase “it went down” (Line 2) plays on the colloquial phrase—“going down”—while referring to the literal, physical fall of the Twin Towers.

Harjo suggests that something else also “went down.” It was the beginning of two American-instigated wars in the Middle East, but also the beginning of an era in American history and politics. Many Americans had previously felt secure and insulated from the violence of war and terror that often plagues other countries. Now they felt that they too were vulnerable to attacks. The proverbial protective wall and that sense of American security also “went down.”

The speaker emphasizes this in the second stanza. They paint images of American achievement, with distinctly masculine connotations. Brothers “suck dry” (Line 4) the oil; “men” (Line 4) walk on the moon.