The Internal

The poem can be classified as taking place in both internal and external worlds. The internal represents the inside of a person's life, meaning his or her body, spirit, psyche, and experiences. The speaker encourages readers to cleanse their inner worlds by avoiding junk food and electronics, and by using healing plants like cedar and sage. Certain descriptions such as the images of figures sitting around a fire do not clearly take place in either the internal or external worlds. Perhaps Harjo omits an explanation in order to thin the barrier between the internal and external. Likewise, the notion that one's spirit can leave the body in the first place suggests an unclear distinction between internal and external realms.

The "internal" in the poem also can refer to being indoors as opposed to going outside. The speaker emphasizes the amount of healing that can be done in...