How to Watch Your Brother Die

A detailed Summary of How to Watch Your Brother Die

Love, as with all other things, brings pain and suffering. Michael Lassell's poem, " How to Watch Your Brother Die," brings a lot of different issues to the table. From reading this poem, I don't believe that it is Lassell's brother who is actually dying, but rather a close friend, and that friend's own brother, whom he had known in his life. The issues that are discussed in this poem are those of which that hit very close to home in today's society. Aids is a disease that has no present cure and can be contracted through many different ways whether it is from drug use, sexual contact, and even blood transfusions. In Lassell's essay he talks about a brother who get's a call that his brother is dying in California. Obviously, from the way that the poem sounds, these two brothers had problems earlier in life and had not been on speaking terms, and now one of the brother's is dying from a life threatening disease.

Now that you know the basis for this poem, I am going to explain some of the major points that are inside of it. Lassell is trying to show the pain that a brother feels for not accepting his brother's choices. Now in the time of death, there is nothing one can do to change the things

of the past. Lassell says," Forgive him out loud, even if he can't hear you. Realize the scar will be all that's left of him" (Lassell 647). This phrase goes to show that no matter what has happened in the past, try to look past it, and see the better side of it. Okay, so you weren't happy with your brother's sexual preferences, but learn to look past them and think about what he wanted. That is all that matters; what he wanted. Even though you don't believe that it is the right choice, it was HIS choice, and you have to learn to accept it and respect his wishes.

That issues that Lassell discusses in this poem are those of which take place everyday in our world. The pain of losing a brother that you haven't spoke too, and the pain that a lover feel's when his companion is dying are those of which I haven't experienced, but some day they will happen to all of us. I do believe that the brother did not feel so bad when Lassell writes about the lover's last words to the brother before boarding the plane to go home. He says," Forgive yourself for not wanting to know him after he told you. He did ( Lassell 649). I think that when the brother heard this he now understood his brother and his life. He now knows that his brother wanted to forgive him and now he doesn't have as much pain in his hear

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 874
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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How to Watch Your Brother Die

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