Good Bones
I was recently introduced to this stunning poem by award winning poet Maggie Smith. By the end
of it I noticed I was literally holding my breath. While she wrote it about raising her children, it speaks to me of the dark reality of the world as well as being an invitation to the reader to believe in the goodness and not give up, right?
Life is short, though I keep this from my children.
Life is short, and I've shortened mine
in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,
a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways
I'll keep from my children. The world is at least
fifty percent terrible, and that's a conservative
estimate, though I keep this from my children.
For every bird there is a stone thrown at a bird.
For every loved child, a child broken, bagged,
sunk in a lake. Life is short and the world
is at least half terrible, and for every kind
stranger, there is one who would break you,
though I keep this from my children. I am trying
to sell them the world. Any decent realtor,
walking you through a real shithole, chirps on
about good bones: This place could be beautiful,
right? You could make this place beautiful.
Slipstream
Maggie stirs the pot with this powerful piece. We can be an example for our children by asking, "What can I do to make this place beautiful?". Ask yourself every day, and do something. It's like that house that needs a lot of work — it'll take some time to see the change, but you keep at it. One step, one action, one after the other, you'll start to see the change.
Thank you so much for sharing this.
Evangel
I've never read such a straightforward message in any poem, so clear and heartfelt.
The African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child," teaches that everyone has a stake in making their community beautiful. It begins by making life beautiful in one's own family.
This poem speaks to our potential to be beautiful—and not by way of simple cosmetic fixes that fuel a $450 billion dollar industry in skincare, haircare, makeup, and fragrance.
Making ourselves beautiful and teaching our children the art of being beautiful rests squarely on the foundation of how we think about others, treat others, and speak about others in front of our children and others.
Well Street
I agree that this is unlike any poem I've read.
At first, it could be interpreted as a list of reasons to not have children or to not get out of bed in the morning.
However, it lands on opportunity—opportunities to be part of the 50% of strangers that are helpful and kind, to ensure the children in our lives know they're loved (and the grownups as well), and to live with a knowingness that "Yes, I can make this place beautiful."
Thank you for sharing.
Wilsons Grave
Beautiful poem. People with heart can relate. Thanks for sharing it and acquainting me with this poet.