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19 pages 38 minutes read

Maggie Smith

Good Bones

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2016

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Background

Literary Context

“Good Bones” adds to the works of poems rooted in protest, resistance, and empowerment. While not an openly confrontational poem, Smith’s “Good Bones” comments on similar themes to protest poetry, such as social justice and the exposure of grim truths. Poems in this literary tradition tend to advocate for change, raise consciousness, and establish a unified front against injustice or inhumanity. Poems in this category often have to do with peace and justice, calling—as Smith does—for a better world. Examples of other poets in this genre are Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and Adrienne Rich.

Smith’s “Good Bones” uses the voice of a mother to identify injustices of raising a child in a world where horrible things happen. For instance, Smith states, “For every loved child, a child broken, bagged, / sunk in a lake” (Lines 9-10). Smith’s speaker asks, how does one explain this type of violence to their children? How does one explain to their child that this is the fate of some children?

Smith’s speaker also uses examples in nature (“stone thrown at a bird” [Line 8]) and questions the ubiquitous kindness of strangers (“for every kind stranger, / there is one who would break you” [Lines 11-12]). Through these examples, Smith exposes horrible truths of the world. And by doing so, calls for reform, change, and action. The poem concludes, as many in this genre do, advocating for a kinder, richer, and more peaceful world. Smith’s speaker points to the world’s faults but concludes the poem by drawing on the world’s “good bones” (Line 16). Akin to a busted-up house, the world retains a solid structure on which the next generation could opt to make something “beautiful” (Line 17), if they choose.

Historical Context

Published in June of 2016 in Waxwing, “Good Bones” has since been included in Smith’s 2017 collection of the same title. Smith describes the poem as a strange gift; the poem was "written in roughly 20 minutes and edited only once" (Cai, Delia. “'There's an Inherent Danger in Processing Your Life Experience as Material': Maggie Smith, Twitter's Poet in Residence, Takes on the Fourth Wall." Vanity Fair, 10 Apr 2023). The poem, however, took on a life of its own following publication, becoming an international sensation across social media channels and reaching a huge number of readers. Published the same week as the mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida where 49 people were killed and 53 were wounded, the poem struck a chord with a public feeling distraught, frustrated, and disillusioned by the state of the world. That same week, UK member of parliament Jo Cox was murdered. Both events were violent and unprovoked, leaving the public feeling confused and sad. Since the poem’s publication, mass shootings have persisted—particularly in America. Smith’s poem serves as a testament to what’s wrong with the world.

“Good Bones” is written in the voice of a mother grappling with how to explain the world to her children. The world, as described in the poem, is “at least half terrible” (Line 11) with examples of strangers “break[ing] you” (Line 12) and children who are “broke, bagged / sunk in a lake” (Lines 9-10). These images of violence and death directly correlate to the state of the world in 2016 at the time of the poem’s publication. While Smith didn’t write “Good Bones” about these specific events—the poem was written in 2015 before these events occurred—she admits she had been thinking about everything wrong with the world and grappling with how to raise her children in such a problematic, broken place.

The fact that Smith’s poem was published the same week as these two tragic events is a testament to its truth; the world is filled with terror and raising children in such a world is disconcerting. Yet, Smith chooses to end the poem with hope. While much of the poem inhabits the horribleness of the world, there is still a significant amount of beauty, love, and goodness. The public’s vast sharing of “Good Bones” across the internet in 2016-17 is also a tribute to this hope, positivity, and argument for a world of beauty.

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