Poetically Speaking: Good Bones by Maggie Smith

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.

***

I was surprised when I realized I’d never talked about Maggie Smith for a Poetically Speaking post before but it did make my choice for this year’s final poem feature obvious. I always appreciate a poem where the individual components do as much work as the whole–something that I have always thought Good Bones showcases really well. We get all of these interesting images in a structure that is free verse but deceptive enough to make you think there is a specific poetic form at work. Then we get to those final lines. “I am trying to sell them the world …” “You could make this place beautiful.”

2024 has been a hard year. And it’s really easy to get lost in that and feel like this relentless litany of problems and maladies is all there is. But that isn’t true. Because no matter how bad things get the world is always changing. There is always a chance to do more in your little corner. You can make things beautiful. You can do your best. And that’s all anyone can ask as we keep marching toward what’s next.

Check back every Friday in April for a new Poetically Speaking post. Until then, you can also browse older posts (and guest posts) for more poetry.