38 by Layli Long Soldier was definitely unique – unlike any other poem that I have ever read or listened to. The use of informative language is very uncommon to poems, at least compared to the ones I have read. The best way to describe its originality would be to say, if you were to only listen to it, without seeing its structure, you wouldn’t have known that it’s truly a poem. Something else that stood out to me was its informal style. While reading the poem, along with listening to it, it felt as though she was speaking to me one on one, saying thoughts straight from her mind. What also made it seem like an interpersonal conversation were the somewhat off-topic comments, such as , “keep in mind, I am not a historian”(Long Soldier) or “yet, I started this piece because I was interested in writing about grasses”(Long Soldier). You wouldn’t normally come across such comments in a formal and informative piece of text, thus making it seem more informal.
The line “everything is in the language we use”(Long Soldier) conveys one of, if not the most important message in the poem. She is trying to say there are messages and meanings behind the words and names we use today in our language. This statement was brought up in the context of explaining the meaning of Minnesota Treaties, which translates to something along the lines of turbid water agreements. Meaning, it was a confused and unclear agreement between the two parties which in turn greatly benefited one side and impaired the other.