Good Bones on a Real Shithole
Review of “Good Bones” by Maggie Smith
I have friends who were born to parent. They have wanted to be moms and dads since they were young. They talk about “the gift of life.” They talk about how exciting it is to share things like Christmas, chubby puppies, trick-or-treating, the sudden joy of a sighted rainbow.
“Good Bones” by Maggie Smith is not a poem for these parents.
“Good Bones” is for parents who deeply and darkly understand the world. Who have seen the horror that corrupts the simplest joys. Who know the gloom that lurks behind the bookshelf, in the closet, between the spaces of your loved one’s fingers. It’s a poem for parents who grapple with the knowledge that their children have been born into a world riddled with violence, loss, and evil.
It’s a poem for parents who are confronted with the decision on how you raise your children in such a world. Do you introduce your children to murder? To rape? To assault? To child abuse? Or do you, like “any decent realtor,” sell them on the world as a place with potential, a gorgeous home that just needs a little bit of work?
Check out the poem at the link below, then come back here and let me know what you think. As a person who doesn’t want children for exactly this reason, Smith’s words really spoke to me. Did you feel the same? Is this poem too cynical? Or does it end with just enough hope? I can’t wait to hear what you think.
Link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/89897/good-bones
