16 pages • 32 minutes read
Remember
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Symbols & Motifs
Sun, Stars, Moon
“Remember” opens with references to the sky, stars, moon, and sun. These elements are often emblems or symbols for the almighty, a power that is above earthly concerns. The speaker treats them as family members, but also as powerful entities that can see and speak to humans. The speaker notes “you were born under [the sky]” (Line 1), and readers should “know each of the star’s stories” (Line 2). This demonstrates the connectivity between human beings and the celestial elements. It evokes a theme of metaphysical spirituality as experienced through attention to physical phenomenon, with both the daylight and the nighttime personified as benevolent, involved in the lives of people, and willing to share their wisdom with anyone who listens. Through this relationship, Harjo portrays the cosmic as friendly and the earth and heavens as supportive of human life.
Wind
The wind is a symbol of something intangible, invisible, immeasurable, but significant. Like the celestial forces, it has power to roam over the earth, but unlike the sun, moon, stars, etc., the wind interacts more intimately with people, living with them on the planet. Wind symbolizes change since it comes and goes, moves the fixed elements, and can even cause damage. Harjo personifies Wind too as benevolent, saying “Remember her voice. She knows the / origin of this universe” (Lines 17-18). Like the cosmic forces, the wind is personified as eternal, female, and possessing a “voice” with ancient knowledge. The wind is a wise relation who knows more than human beings do because she is eternal. She is a symbol of the world’s ability to change.
Dance and Language
In Indigenous cultures, dance is sacred. It is a communal event in which dancers connect not only with one another, but with the earth and natural elements around them. Dance is positive and expansive. When the speaker calls language a “dance” (Line 25), she elevates speech to a level of sacredness. Just as a dance involves rhythm and communal participation, so life requires the involvement of humans and nature to act in harmony.
Dancing, communicating, and living all require give and take, coordination, and the ability of the dancers to listen and respond to one another. In the worldview of the poem, life is made up of reciprocal actions. The speaker says, “Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you” (Line 23), concluding that the reader is part of a dynamic force that keeps moving. Pairing the word “motion” with “growing” in Line 23 suggests that motion is positive, expanding the personal way a communal dance grows individuals into a larger expression that includes multiple singularities, expanding their consciousness outward.
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By Joy Harjo
