You Can Have It

by Philip Levine
page 315

As a reader who pictures what I read, this poem immediately appealed to me because it begins with imagery for me to see and hear. In "You Can Have It," Levine sets up three different settings with many details for any reader to picture the scenes. The bedroom at night with two beds, his brother's under the window. As his brother returns home, the "bed groans" and "his shoes drop one by one." Later the scene set at the ice plant and after that the setting of the city. The imagery and details of the poem create feelings of uneasiness, sadness, and a sense of longing for the past. This includes things like "his unshaven face," the "gray boxcar," the "cracked squares," and "frail light." I really like how Levine illustrates his desire to go back to the past and reunite with his brother through this sad-toned, illustrated poem.