Point of View

“Yes, That’s When” is written from the first-person perspective of a speaker who rejoices in connecting with other beings (both animate and inanimate) in a forest. In fact, this speaker does not differentiate between what is generally considered living and nonliving, which conveys an animist perspective. The speaker is content to embody trees as much as they are to embody mountains. The speaker also does not differentiate between human and more-than-human beings in the wider web of life. The reason why the speaker enjoys entering the woods is because it allows them to feel incorporated into nature’s network, showing the lack of separation between humans and nature. That is why forgetting their individual body is not harmful, but expansive. The speaker pays careful attention to their surroundings, which is how they notice everything regardless of scale. Drops of dew receive as much of...