Analysis Of Marie Howe's Poem 'What The Living Do'

After a first reading of Marie Howe’s What the Living Do, many complicated feelings come out of my mind. In her poem, Marie Howe captures the human behavior that makes people obsessed with trivial issues until they overlook the important things that they could do to make their lives more enjoyable. Those situations actually have happened on most of us today. In most cases, people will procrastinate over simple chores and tasks instead of taking action and accomplishing these tasks. While many people will sulk over how unfortunate they are, they don't realize that they are in a better off than many other people. As technology affects every aspect of our lives in the modern world, it becomes extremely difficult to get off from the technological

gadgets and focus on the real essence of living. It is even harder to realize that a dead person has no ability to enjoy the little things in life or even partake in accomplishing the little tasks that people get so lazy in accomplishing. Ideally, people desire to feel good, to accomplish goals in their lives and to achieve more desires. However, most people do not want to do anything to meet their goals but just complain about not accomplishing anything.
Marie captures the everyday ‘dilemma' that people face.

She starts her poem by addressing her dead brother Johnny and gives a series of complaints about the condition of her kitchen. Just like what happens to many people, she recounts how they hesitate to undertake their responsibilities and blame them on other people or circumstances. She gives the ordinary excuses of a lazy person, accusing the presence of the mess in her kitchen rather than her indolence. She claims the crusty dishes have piled up while it is she or her guests piled them in the sink. She expects the plumber to repair the drainage although she didn't even call him. She would probably have a better kitchen if she called the plumber and then washed the dirty dishes. Instead of taking action, she stands, watches, and then blames everything else apart from herself. She recounts that is the ordinary thing that people do, and before she could solve her kitchen mess she drifts to another distraction and notices that it's already winter. Ideally, people will find tons of distraction but will not find time to accomplish their

goals.
The poem continues to reveal the utter negligence that people have even in making a better condition for themselves.

Sometimes all one needs to create a better condition is putting in a little effort. However, as the poem implies, it is easier to do nothing for staying in a comfort zone is better than achieving a better condition. She complains of the heat in the room because the sun for sunlight pours through the open living-room windows. All she needs to do is get up and close the windows, but she won't do it either. She also reveals the futility of trying to get out of the meaningless routine that people adopt. In an attempt to be proactive, she thinks about the essence of living and is almost convinced that routine is the nature of life. She thinks for a long time and thinks again but ironically, the same routine chores distract her yet again. She goes to buying a hairbrush, parking, and slamming doors. At the end, she gives up on finding the essence of living; she wants to do things like she has always done

them.
The poet continues to use the apostrophe in addressing the already dead Johnny, conversing with him as though expecting him to answer. She explores that people don't accomplish their goals because they don't set them in the first place. Most people wait for seasons to pass, and desire a lot of things from other people. However, it is not clear the exact thing that a person desires. Since people don't have definite goals, they would be content with whatever happens, We want whoever to call or not call. It is not important whatever a person gets since they are not making any effort to get it. Ironically, the person does not even know what they want; they just wait for whatever happens. However, moments come when a person can focus on important things in their life. When she looks at her image in the glass window, she realizes she is her glowing face and her flowing hair. It makes her realizes that she is alive, and she can do everything that her dead brother can't do. She can't utter a word because she also realizes that she is letting her life fly by without her putting any effort to live to the fullest.
This poem mirrors the lives of many people. People fail to make goals and will accept anything that happens in their lives. In most cases, people will not make any effort to make their lives better but will instead blame their failures on other people and circumstances. They also fail to realize that life is delicate and could escape from their grasp in an instance. For this reason, every person should make an effort to enjoy their life while they still can.