In Marie Howe's "What the Living Do," the speaker deals with the death of her brother Johnny and the effect it has on her perspective of life. At the start of the poem, the speaker speaks to her brother, telling him about issues at home that she is unable to manage due to grief from his death. Constantly, things go wrong in her life, and she realizes that all her problems cause what her brother had called yearning – the constant human want to have more. However, occasionally she realizes that the significance of life is the things that aren't perfect, and that through remembering her brother and his death, she is embracing the fact that she is alive. Death is a significant event, and especially the loss of a loved one can leave people in denial …show more content…
Life itself isn't perfect, she realizes, and therefore she should appreciate those happier moments of living. The speaker describes moments where, in the middle of the day, she looks at her image in a window and she states, "I'm gripped by a cherishing" (14). A deep and tender love retains a tight hold on the speaker, displaying a strength of emotion never seen from the speaker. She is no longer unfeeling about life; instead, she has overcome the sorrow of Johnny's death and has discovered the ability to love. The speaker is speechless at her love of her own imperfections, and she realizes, "I am living. I remember you" (16). The speaker addresses Johnny directly, implying she still longs for him; yet, she recalls him as someone from her past, signifying that she has come to terms with his death and knows he cannot come back. The memory of Johnny comes right after the speaker's awareness that she is in the process of living. The poet has separated these two short statements onto a different line, making this the only short line of the poem and emphasizing the impact of these words. By connecting her awareness of life with her remembrance of Johnny, the speaker demonstrates that she has finally realized that the process of living is coming to terms with those unhappy things in