Poem 8 - A smile to remember by Charles Bukowski

A smile to remember

By Charles Bukowski

we had goldfish and they circled around and around
in the bowl on the table near the heavy drapes
covering the picture window and
my mother, always smiling, wanting us all
to be happy, told me, 'be happy Henry!'
and she was right: it's better to be happy if you
can
but my father continued to beat her and me several times a week while
raging inside his 6-foot-two frame because he couldn't
understand what was attacking him from within. 

my mother, poor fish,
wanting to be happy, beaten two or three times a
week, telling me to be happy: 'Henry, smile!
why don't you ever smile?' 

and then she would smile, to show me how, and it was the
saddest smile I ever saw 

one day the goldfish died, all five of them,
they floated on the water, on their sides, their
eyes still open,
and when my father got home he threw them to the cat
there on the kitchen floor and we watched as my mother
smiled 

Analysis

            The poem, A smile to remember, sends out a message of being happy during the hard times of suffering - physical or verbal abuse. The author talks about him and his mother being a victim of domestic violence from his father. Bukowski shows a glimpse of abusive childhood through this poem where a child was abused and suffered a lot but still there was hope - his mother who always cheered him to be happy just by putting a smile on her face and encouraging Bukowski to do the same.  The poem also suggests that the mother is dead - probably she committed suicide or was killed by the father. Someone would write this poem to express the difficulties they faced or their loved one faced due to domestic violence and to inspire others on how to reduce suffering during these hard times when life seems impossible to continue. The purpose of this poem is to aware readers of using happiness as a weapon to end suffering and avoid depression for violence that others pose on us. Moreover, it inspires us to be happy which is the sole purpose of life and has the power to turn curse into boon. It is not the best option but sometimes there is no other option as this might be of a earlier time where violence towards children and wives was not considered a crime and women just had to suck it up without in uttering anything.

            In the poem, A smile to remember, Bukowski talks about the theme of violence and happiness. For example, on line 8, Bukowski says, "but my father continued to beat her and me several times a week ", which suggests violence on the author and his mother by his father involving the theme of violence in the poem. In addition, on the other hand, there is the goodness of the mother that promotes happiness - "she was right: it's better to be happy if you can" - which proves the presence of the theme of happiness. Looking at the father and the mother, another theme seems to be hidden in the poem - theme of good and bad. The mother is the symbol of goodness while the father is the symbol of bad. Literary devices used in the poem include repetition, descriptive writing and imagery. Bukowski uses the word "smile" a lot in the poem - " why don't you ever smile?' " - which shows author's highlight on his message - no matter what happens smile. In addition, there is use of descriptive writing - " my mother, poor fish, " - where the use of word "poor" makes readers' feel bad for the mother who faces violence and tries to console her son to be happy. Such descriptive writing enhances readers' understanding of the poem and attachment towards the characters present in the poem. Moreover, the use of imagery - "near the heavy drapes covering the picture window and my mother" - which helps the readers' visualise of curtains covering the window and a picture of the boy's mother. Well this imagery helps me imagine a picture but how can the boy's mother be covered by curtains ?- it's the mother's picture that the boy is referring to and this leads me to a possibility of her mother being dead and he remembering what she told him all the time to fight his problems. The literary devices not only helped me understand the depth of the poem but actually know what is going on in the poem. For example, until I analyzed the literary devices, I did not think that the boy's mother was dead. The devices really enhance a reader's understanding of the poem.

            Now making connections to myself on this topic, when I was small, I had smaller kids than me visit us in my back home, India. They were really annoying and always broke me and my cousin's toys. As they were related to us, we could not utter a word and just had to look at our toys vandalized by random visitors. However, if we got angry at them, it would have looked bad and disrespectful to the parents of those annoying kids. Therefore, all we could do is smile and be happy in hope that we will get new toys in the near future and luckily we did. Learning from this, I can connect to what the mother and the boy felt like - feeling of helplessness - when they were abused by a loved one and they could not do anything for the sake of their relation or due to the time period that was unfair to the women.

            I agree to the mother's perception of being happy under any circumstances. I believe whatever happens to us is for a good cause and just because we cannot see it right now does not mean we get angry or depressed as there is more to come in life. Do not make conclusions in life. Death is the only conclusion in our life. By being happy, we get the hope and power to easily fight problems. However, I do not agree with being silent against injustice. We must raise our voice against any violence to discourage others doing the same thing to someone else. If we don't stop it, we are giving a rise to it and are equally punishable as the criminal.

            The poem, A smile to remember, by Bukowski is a great one that inspires readers' to reduce suffering by being in a state of happiness which helps cure wounds quickly and easily.