For many people, the thought of death can stultify their connection to the present moment. They cannot think ahead because all they see is their inevitable nonexistence. In “When Death Comes,” the speaker argues for the opposite, suggesting that instead of being frozen by the recognition of mortality, one should use this knowledge to spark greater connection with the world and the people in it. Engagement should win out over fear.

When death inevitably arrives, the speaker notes how they “don’t want to wonder / if [they] have made of [their] life something” (Lines 24-25). They “don’t want to find [themselves] sighing and frightened” (Line 26). Instead, they want to make sure they are “married to amazement” (Line 22) and have taken permanent residence in the world rather than having “simply […] visited” (Line 28). In other words, they hope they have committed to life. They don’t see death as merely “that cottage of darkness” (Line 10), but another vital space to be curious.

This spurs the speaker into thinking that there is no great change awaiting them in the afterlife, but that it will serve as a continuation of the space they live in now. The speaker reasons that, in turn, one must “look upon everything as a brotherhood and a sisterhood” (Lines 11-12).