...morality in the traditional sense, before the advocates of duty and obligation got their hands on it, is the study of how to live most fully and enjoyably; and the word ‘moral’ in the present context refers to a qualitative or evaluative view of human conduct and experience. Moral language does not only include terms like good and bad, or right and wrong: its lexicon extends to such epithets as ‘rash’, ‘exquisite’, ‘placid’, ‘sardonic’, ‘vivacious’, 'resilient’, ‘tender’, ‘blasé’ and ‘curmudgeonly’. All these are as much moral terms as ‘saintly’ or ‘genocidal’. Morality has to do with behaviour, not just with good behaviour. Moral judgements include such statements as ‘Her protestations were more disquieting than reassuring’, as well as statements like ‘this evildoer ought to have his eyes gouged out’. . . Poems are moral statements, then, not because they launch stringent judgements according to some code, but because they deal in human values, meanings and purposes.
--Terry Eagleton, How to Read a Poem (2007).
Bahamian poet, Christian Campbell, was recently nominated for a 2010 Forward Prize in Poetry, and in honour of his nomination, the CRB reminded us of this poem of his, “Goodman’s Bay,” which was published in its February 2005 issue.
What would you say is the poem’s moral statement(s)?
