Perhaps the World Ends Here

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1994

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Background

Literary Context

“Perhaps the World Ends Here” adds to the literary tradition of Native American poetry and culture, which explore and share the Native American experience. Harjo—as US Poet Laureate and one of the most prominent Native American voices—defines and establishes this literary tradition. In the introduction to an anthology of contemporary Native American women’s writings, Harjo writes:

The literature of the aboriginal people of North America defines America. It is not exotic. The concerns are particular yet often universal. Anyone of these lands shares in the making of this literature, this history, these connections, these songs. It is a connection [...] constructed of the very earth on which we stand (Harjo, Joy. Reinventing the Enemy’s Language: Contemporary Native Women’s Writings of North America, edited by Joy Harjo and Gloria Bird, W.W. Norton & Company, 1998).

Native American poets and writers (such as Joy Harjo, Sherman Alexie, and Natalie Diaz) all write to share and define their indigenous experience. Yet, their culture—which often draws on themes of nature, caring for and respecting the land, and taking part in community—encompasses a universal human experience.

Harjo’s “Perhaps the World Ends Here” falls squarely within this literary tradition. There is nothing exotic about the poem’s narrative; each element of life is something many experience. By writing this poem in this way, Harjo makes it accessible to all, no matter what culture or region of the country they were raised in (for example, “we have given birth on this table” [Line 9]; “We make men at it, we make women” [Line 4]; “we must eat to live” [Line 1]). As Harjo states in her quotation above, works by Native American writers are not written or created in isolation; these literary works are the products of interwoven connections (of people, nature, ancestors, and culture). “Perhaps the World Ends Here,” too, is intertwined with the past, present, the sun and rain, life and death, and the cycles that guide and define life.

Authorial and Cultural Context

Because Harjo's father was from a famous Creek family, she is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) people, who stretched across the region known today as the Southeastern United States. This upbringing and cultural ancestry are essential to understanding Harjo’s poetry, which often incorporates Creek values, traditions, and myths. The Creek people are known for valuing harmony and balance, and harboring deep respect for nature. What’s more, they believe that nothing in nature occurs in isolation. Rather, all living things are interconnected, such that nothing can exist alone.

These Creek values are evident in “Perhaps the World Ends Here,” a poem that closely follows many Creek customs—and many broader beliefs of environmentalism and peace. Recognizing the various balances in life, Harjo’s speaker is careful to weigh the positive with the negative. For instance, Stanza 5 states, “At this table we gossip, recall enemies and the ghosts of lovers” (Line 5), pairing the negative of “enemies” (Line 5) with the positive of “lovers” (Line 5). Harjo achieves balance and harmony repeatedly throughout the poem in Stanza 7 (“a house in the rain, an umbrella in the sun” [Line 7]), Stanza 9 (“We have given birth […] and have prepared our parents for burial” [Line 9]), Stanza 10 (“At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow” [Line 10]), and others. As nothing in nature occurs in isolation and all things are connected, so too are all aspects of living in Harjo’s poem. No life cycle is unconnected, but rather an extension of all others. With this cultural insight in mind, Harjo’s conclusion (“while we are laughing and crying, eating of the last sweet bite” [Line 11]) rests on a Creek-inspired argument. Life, together with its pains and joys, is meant to be enjoyed and lived.