The title, "For the White Poets Who Would Be Indian," automatically catches the reader's eye. At first glance the tone appears to be accusatory because it is very blunt and a statement on its own. This poem serves as a caution and as an alert for everyone. I contend Rose strives to touch her "white poet" counterparts, the reader, as well as those who share her feeling of displacement.
             It is evident that Rose is speaking to her "white poet" counterparts; they are formally addressed from the very beginning with the title she chose. The motivation of this poem is clearly the poet who happens to be "white" writing about the "Indian" and "Indian" ideals. While Rose does not point at any one poet she does offer the same generalization that many Native Americans experience with writings and discussion about them by others; those same unnamed poets are subjected to the generalizations and, essentially, rape of their work. Rose describes how their words simply cannot wrap around the completeness of the Native American experience. These "would be Indians" step into the Native American persona and hire it in the name of art. . Rose suggests that the "would be Indian" presupposes that they are able to delve into what they perceive is the Native American experience and attempt to create it for themselves and the "Indian." Rose stresses that they cannot possibly own those feelings; they cannot be the "Indians" they write about being.
             The title not only functions as the title but as the first line of the poem, "For the White Poets Who Would Be Indian/just once/just long enough..." The first word in the poem is not capitalized drawing more attention to the title. Each line in the poem as precise as it is concise. The way Rose chose to break the verses adds to the manner in which the message is being conveyed. T...