Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "For Alva Benson, and For Those Who Have Learned to Speak," Joy Harjo delves into the profound connections between language, birth, identity, and the earth. Through evocative imagery and a narrative that intertwines personal and collective history, Harjo celebrates the enduring voice of the land and the resilience of those who carry its stories.

The poem opens with a powerful and mystical image: "And the ground spoke when she was born. / Her mother heard it." This establishes an immediate connection between the act of birth and the earth itself. The ground's voice signifies a deep, almost primordial link between humans and the planet, a connection that Harjo explores throughout the poem.

Harjo describes a birthing scene that transcends time and place: "It was now when it happened, now giving birth to itself again and again between the legs of women." This line highlights the cyclical nature of life and birth, suggesting that each act of creation is part of a continuous, eternal process. The repetition of "now" emphasizes the timelessness of this experience.

The poem then contrasts this natural birthing process with a more clinical setting: "Or maybe it was the Indian Hospital in Gallup. The ground still spoke beneath mortar and concrete." Even in the sterility of a hospital, the earth's voice persists. Harjo vividly describes the mother's struggle against the constraints of the hospital environment: "She strained against the metal stirrups, and they tied her hands down because she still spoke with them when they mutfled her screams." The image of her hands speaking despite being tied down underscores the power and necessity of expression, even under oppressive circumstances.

The child born from this struggle "learned to speak both voices." This duality reflects the child's ability to navigate between different worlds and languages, embodying a connection to both her Navajo heritage and the English-speaking world. As she grows, she witnesses the transformation of her environment: "She grew up talking in Navajo, in English and watched the earth around her shift and change with the people in the towns and in the cities learning not to hear the ground as it spun around beneath them."

Harjo poignantly addresses the loss of connection to the earth: "She learned to speak for the ground, the voice coming through her like roots that have long hungered for water." This line emphasizes the child's role as a conduit for the earth's voice, preserving and conveying its messages in a world increasingly disconnected from its roots.

The cycle of birth continues with the child's own daughter: "Her own daughter was born, like she had been, in either place or all places, so she could leave, leap into the sound she had always heard, a voice like water, like the gods weaving against sundown in a scarlet light." The imagery of weaving gods and scarlet light evokes a sense of sacred continuity and the enduring presence of the divine in everyday life.

The poem reaches a climax with the eruption of Mt. St. Helens: "It is the ground murmuring, and Mt. St. Helens erupts as the harmonic motion of a child turning inside her mother's belly waiting to be born to begin another time." This eruption symbolizes the powerful, often destructive force of nature that mirrors the act of birth and the beginning of new cycles.

Harjo concludes with a reflection on the ongoing nature of life and death: "And we go on, keep giving birth and watch ourselves die, over and over. / And the ground spinning beneath us goes on talking." These lines encapsulate the poem's central themes of continuity, resilience, and the unending conversation between humans and the earth.

"For Alva Benson, and For Those Who Have Learned to Speak" by Joy Harjo is a profound meditation on the interconnectedness of language, birth, and the natural world. Through rich, evocative imagery and a narrative that spans generations, Harjo celebrates the enduring power of the earth's voice and the resilience of those who carry its stories forward. The poem invites readers to listen more deeply to the ground beneath them and to recognize the sacred cycles of life that connect us all.

Copyright (c) 2025 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...