Olds begins “Ode to Dirt” with an address to the dirt, followed by an apology. “Dear Dirt,” the speaker says, “I am sorry I slighted you” (Line 1). By beginning the poem with a direct address, Olds establishes a mood of intimacy typically found in letters and close conversations. However, immediately following the address is an apology, which signals that the speaker recognizes wrongdoing: ways they have “slighted” (Line 1) dirt. What follows is reasoning for why this wrongdoing might have occurred. The speaker begins by saying “I thought you were only the background” (Line 2), which is to say the afterthought or backdrop for which “the leading characters—the plants / and animals and human animals” existed (Lines 3-4). Apologetically, the speaker realizes the error of failing to see dirt as the life force behind all living elements of the earth.

To describe this transgression, the speaker uses a simile, comparing their love for the plants, animals, and human animals (rather than the dirt) to their love for the stars (rather than “the sky that gave them space / in which to shine” (Lines 6-7)).