Perhaps the World Ends Here

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1994

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

Harjo’s “Perhaps the World Ends Here” is a free-verse poem, which means it neither rhymes nor has a regular meter. It is written in long, prose-like lines that extend to the edge of the page and—depending on page width—even beyond the margin, causing lines to double over.

The poem consists of 11 stanzas, with each stanza containing one to three sentences. It also features no line breaks, and, because of this, it reads similarly to a piece of prose, the sentence being the only break that defines one thought from another. Harjo’s use of the sentence in poetry functions as rhythm in and of itself. Alternating between long sentences and short, she creates a sort of seesawing rhythm. An exemplary line is Stanza 4: Following a lengthy, 15-word sentence (“It is here that children are given instructions on what it means to be human” [Line 4]), Harjo writes a punchy, attention-grabbing sentence, “We make men at it, we make women” (Line 4). This alteration between long and short sentences retains the reader’s attention and places emphasis on the shorter lines. Another example of this is in Stanza 10, which is broken into three sentences of varying lengths. The speaker states: “At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow. We pray of suffering and remorse. We give thanks” (Line 10).

Harjo also uses repetition as a formal element. Through the repeated first-person plural pronoun (“we”), Harjo creates a familiar sound—and sonic expectation—throughout the poem (“we must eat to live” [Line 1]; “We chase chickens or dos away from it” [Line 3]; “We have given birth on this table” [Line 9]). In addition to repeating the word “we,” Harjo repeats key sentence structures. For example, the repeated syntax and diction (“We make”) of “We make men at it, we make women” (Line 4) establish a music and rhythm. This occurs again in Stanza 10 when the speaker repeats “with joy, with sorrow” (Line 10).

Personification

Personification in poetry is when animals, plants, inanimate objects, or ideas are given human qualities and characteristics, extending the imagery of the poem. Harjo’s “Perhaps the World Ends Here” has moments of personification that transition the poem from statement to imagery. In Stanza 6, the speaker personifies dreams, giving the dreams human qualities and attributes. The stanza opens, “Our dreams drink coffee with us as they put their arms around our children” (Line 6). Dreams, which can be defined as hopes, ambitions, or ideals, are thoughts. However, in Harjo’s poem they take on physical qualities, drinking at the table with the speaker and wrapping their arms around children. By personifying these dreams, Harjo gives them life. While they may never materialize (as some dreams are never reached), they are still present. By wrapping their arms around the children, Harjo illustrates that even if the parents do not achieve their dreams, it’s possible their children might. In an otherwise statement-driven poem, these moments of personification create small windows of imagery for the reader to look through and see (i.e., picture) these dreams drinking, holding, and laughing.

Metaphor

Metaphor is one of the poem’s most pronounced literary devices. A metaphor is a literary device that makes a comparison between two unlike things. An example is in Line 7 when the speaker compares the table to a house that protects from rain, and the table again to “an umbrella in the sun” (Line 7). A table is not a house or an umbrella. Therefore, by comparing the table to these other objects, Harjo creates an image to explain her idea. The table suddenly becomes more than just a table; it is a refuge, something vast and protective enough to live beneath. Similarly, Harjo’s metaphor of the table being an umbrella to protect from the sun draws another image (and subsequent ideas) of the table extending to protect the speaker from harsh elements. While this is one example of a specific metaphor, Harjo expands the metaphor of the table repeatedly throughout the poem.

An extended metaphor, also called a conceit, is the use of a single metaphor throughout the entirety of a poem. Harjo uses an extended metaphor in “Perhaps the World Ends Here” through the metaphor of the table, which represents the cycles of life or even, more broadly, the world. Developed throughout the poem, the metaphor of the kitchen table extends from its literal meaning (a place to eat and prepare food) to meanings driven by imagery and figurative language (“Wars have begun and ended at this table. It is a place to hide in the shadow of terror” [Line 8]). Harjo chooses the kitchen table as her metaphor because of its commonness and ubiquity; most cultures and peoples regularly gather around a table for meals, ceremonies, and celebrations. By extending the metaphor of the table throughout the poem, Harjo brings the world (complete with war, death, birth, and love) into the home.