Point of View

The poem is told in the second person perspective as the speaker provides instructions for readers to (as specified in the title) reunite their bodies and spirits. Despite there being no first-person pronouns, the speaker exerts a strong presence in this poem through her humorous, assertive, and reverent tone. For example, the opening lines immediately assume that the reader is engaging in toxic habits by eating junk food. The speaker tells the reader to “Put down that bag of potato chips, that white bread, that / bottle of pop,” which could either be read humorously or like a light slap on the wrist (1-2).

Through issuing both physical and metaphysical instructions, the speaker intends to help readers heal their problematic divisions between mind and body. As indicated in the last lines, the speaker wishes for this knowledge and healing to spread. The final lines read, “Then...