good bones

This place could be beautiful, right? You could make this place beautiful.

I first read the poem Good Bones by Maggie Smith a couple years ago and I was instantly intrigued. The precarious tension between all that is good and beautiful in the world and all that is terrible in the world is difficult to reconcile. But it’s where we live - at least most of us anyway. Those in positions of privilege with the ability to do something have a responsibility to at least try. Some do, although many do not. But then this world belongs to them if were being honest. The myth that in America you can be and do anything you want is seldom realized and those who attain the dream usually have to compromise some value along the way to the detriment of others. So I will pass on that. Hard work can get you to a decent living until those in positions of power demand their share. I realize this is a pessimistic view of the world but it’s the truth from where I sit. Optimism is delusion and gets you nowhere, that has unfortunately been burned out of me. One thing I cannot and will not have taken from me is empathy. It’s been a wake up call to realize it’s lacking so much these days. I have been blessed and surprised from kind acts of others. These are the salt of the earth. But beware of those who make blanket statements. This is a way of dismissing the problem so as not to ruin our brunch time. I do think that many people are partly jaded from the overwhelming despair throughout the world. It’s hard to recenter or even know where to begin. But we have to. The alternative is to give up but then at that point what is it all for anyway? The last line of the poem encapsulates the entirety of the message: “This place could be beautiful, right? You could make this place beautiful.” Yes we can. As a wise professor once stated: “Everyone wants to change the world, but no one wants to help mom wash the dishes.” Change is made in our own sphere of influence, one kind act at a time.