The title of Sherman Alexie’s poem, “Reservation Love Song,” underscores the prevalence of love as major theme despite the speaker’s dark humor and the poem’s bleak tone. The word “love,” however, never appears in the poem, and the vows and actions aren’t prototypically romantic. Nonetheless, Alexie shows that it’s possible to experience love and deep connection regardless of environment or socioeconomic status.

While poem’s beginning reads ironically, with the speaker satirizing and poking fun at the typical love song or poem, the lines are also earnest. People in love do things for one another, and in Alexie’s poem, the suitor does quite a bit for their romantic interest. They buy them beer, drive them home, and offer to help them with food, housing costs, and their dental problems. A non-ironic interpretation of the poem might conclude that these gestures are sweet and nice. Instead of satirical, the poem is endearing, with the speaker demonstrating how legitimate romance might unfold in the disenfranchised conditions of the reservation. Moreover, the theme speaks to the couples’ humanity as the bleak reservation hasn’t extinguished their capacity to form a deep bond—to love despite everything.

Love often involves sacrifice, and in the poem, the speaker makes two sacrifices in Stanza 3.