Good Bones

Maggie Smith

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2016

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

World

The poem uses the word “world” (Lines 5, 10, 14) three times; this is a symbol for life beyond of the family unit. Told through the perspective of a speaker who is a parent, and who is trying to protect their children from the dangers that exist, “Good Bones” comments on the wider world that is full of misery:

[...] The world is at least

fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative

estimate, though I keep this from my children (Lines 5-7).

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The world in “Good Bones” is a symbol for the greatness of what exists beyond the children's knowledge. When young, a child only knows so much, and their world is very small. It might contain their house, street, school, and a handful of other places. But as they grow, the world widens. Suddenly, the world contains a nearby city, a college, another country even. With the expansion of perspective, the possibility of danger also expands. Other regions and cultures have different customs and laws. Other regions might be experiencing war. Some places might not be as safe as others and yet the children—venturing out into what the speaker calls the “world” (Line 10) and they define as “at least half terrible” (Line 11)—are likely unaware of this. The speaker, though, has learned that the world is not all beauty. Possibly wise, possibly street-smart, but certainly older, the speaker is fearful for their children who do not yet have this knowledge.

As a symbol, the world in “Good Bones” stands for the unknown. It is defined by the speaker as “a real shithole” (Line 15). But for the children who see the world as wondrous and new, the speaker recognizes the world has the potential to be beautiful in the hands of the next generation.

Realtor

The symbol of the realtor in “Good Bones” represents the speaker as a parent trying to show their children the positive side of the world. The speaker states, “I am trying / to sell them the world” (Lines 13-14), as though the world is something that needs the careful touch of a well-intentioned home buyer. With the increased amount of violence, corruption, and turmoil in the world, the speaker recognizes that they’ve brought their children into a place of terror. Yet, there is no going back. The children are here. The only thing to do is to focus on the world’s beauty and try to make the children feel at home in a world that is, at times, far from beautiful.

By using the symbol of the realtor, the speaker comments on their own role in their child’s life as somewhat duplicitous. Throughout the poem, the speaker consistently lies to or keeps truths from their children. Whether to protect them or whether out of shame for the current state of the world, the comparison of the speaker to the realtor at the end is telling. Realtors, whose sole goal is to sell something regardless of the condition, can focus on the good in a piece of property despite all of the bad. Like a realtor, the speaker, too, spends the final lines of the poem walking their children through “a real shithole” (Line 15), while “[chirping] on / about good bones” (Lines 15-16). The speaker feeds the children the idea that “This place could be beautiful” (Line 16) and “You could make this place beautiful” (Line 17). The speaker, like a salesperson, points out that it is the next generation’s responsibility to change the world because the speaker’s generation has failed. While the poem ends with the possibility of goodness and beauty, it also recognizes the failures of past generations to have made a world worth living in for their children.

Bones

Bones in “Good Bones” is mentioned twice in the poem: in the title and in Line 16, the second to last line of the poem. Used in conjunction with the speaker’s comparison to a realtor, the “bones” mentioned are that of a house’s structure. Old houses may appear to be rotten on the outside, but beneath their troubled façade, they often retain “good bones.” The speaker argues that the world itself is in a similar condition.

Bones may also represent the moral structure by which one lives. Without morals, the world is corrupt, dangerous, and terrible for all. In the final lines of the poem, the speaker walks their children around the world. They point out the possibility of good people and how to be a good person on this planet. Rooted in virtue, having good bones is to be honest, caring, kind, and respectful. These are attributes often taught to children. However, they’re attributes one doesn’t always observe in adults. The speaker loosely argues that the world could use more “good bones” (Line 16)—more people who want to make the world a place in which they’d like to live.