Something You Should Know
by Clint Smith
The Poem
“Something You Should Know” by Clint Smith is a short poem that follows a quick but smooth transition from the concrete to the abstract.
At the literal level, the poem explores the speaker’s experience working in a pet shop and watching hermit crabs “grow, molt, shed [their] skin and scurry across / the bottom of the aquarium to find a new shell.” But on a figurative level, the poem encompasses more—exploring the tension between the human fear of and dependence on vulnerability.
So here’s to Smith, here’s to grappling with our vulnerability, and here’s to being brave enough to shed old skin.
Its Colors
With each poem we share, we ask Claude 3 (Sonnet) to generate a palette of five colors that embody the poem’s content and mood. Claude shares its color choices with us via hexadecimal codes, and we share them with you via the palette at the top of the post. Here’s Claude’s explanation for today’s colors:
#A58C6B (Light Taupe): This warm, earthy tone represents the sense of security and comfort found within a shell or protective barrier, as described in the poem.
#E8D3B5 (Sandy Beige): This soft, natural hue reflects the delicate nature of the hermit crab and its journey of shedding its skin and seeking a new home.
#5D6D7E (Slate Gray): This cool, muted shade captures the underlying fear and hesitation expressed in the poem, particularly the fear of exposure and the need for self-preservation.
#F3D8C7 (Pale Peach): This gentle, flushed tone symbolizes the vulnerability and raw emotion of wanting to reveal one's true self, as depicted in the desire to "show you all of my skin."
#3C6E71 (Deep Teal): This rich, oceanic hue represents the open water metaphor mentioned in the poem, evoking a sense of uncertainty and the fear of meeting someone in a state of complete exposure.
This color palette aims to harmonize the various elements of the poem, from the fragility of the hermit crab to the speaker's internal struggles with vulnerability and self-protection. The warm and cool tones, as well as the range of intensities, create an aesthetically appealing and thought-provoking palette that captures the poem's essence.
Things to Notice
“Something You Should Know” is short but contains impressive technique. If you’re interested in exploring Smith’s craft in a bit more depth, here are the two main things we’d recommend noticing:
Metaphor (the hermit crab comes to represent the speaker—and human vulnerability more generally; skin comes to represent a person’s true self, which is an interesting twist on the tendency of authors to use skin as a metaphor for surface-level attributes)
Connotation (context within the poem adds emotional weight to somewhat negative but relatively neutral words, such as “exposed,” “requiring,” and “needing”)
Although both techniques are interesting and lend the poem its strength, we’re particularly interested in how Smith’s word choice creates a cascade of connotative effects throughout the poem. For instance, in the middle of the poem, the speaker reflects on the hermit crab “requiring something else to feel safe.” In and of itself, this line may be interpreted as slightly negative but relatively neutral. Most animals—humans included—”[require] something else to feel safe,” such as shelter and companionship. It’s not all that extraordinary. However, Smith’s word choice immediately before the line layers additional emotion onto the idea of needing something beyond one’s self, influencing the connotation of the line and the idea. Pay attention to how the line changes when contextualized within the poem:
Without context: “requiring something else to feel safe”
With context: “to have / to live its entire life requiring something else / to feel safe”
The inclusion of “have” and “entire” shape the reader’s interpretation of the line toward the negative, thereby emphasizing the speaker’s fear of allowing himself to be vulnerable.
But, as with most of the poems we read and discuss, we have more questions than answers. Here are two we find interesting:
There seem to be two parallel, related fears at the end of the poem: showing one’s true skin and meeting someone “in open water.” What could the final three words (“in open water”) refer to?
Smith’s line breaks seemingly happen at random. What variables guide the form of his poem? Why does he begin and end lines at the points he’s chosen?
As always, if you stumble across something brilliant, or if you have a question that lingers with you, leave us a comment. We’d love to hear from you.
Classroom Context
“Something You Should Know” can serve as a gentle introduction to poetry for the more reluctant. We recommend using it as an ice-breaker—breaking the ice between students and verse but also between students and students.
Because the metaphors in the poem are relatively straightforward, they’re easy to emulate. We recommend asking students to craft their own. After reading Smith’s poem, discuss how he uses a hermit crab to embody his fear of vulnerability. Next, ask students to identify a characteristic about themselves (strengths, weaknesses, fears, dreams, etc.) and use an animal to communicate that characteristic.
Depending on when you choose to implement the activity during the course of the school year, you may consider asking students to share their metaphors, develop their metaphors into complete poems, and/or create posters illustrating their metaphors that can then be used to create a classroom gallery wall.
Additionally, beyond “Something You Should Know,” Smith is a great poet and writer to recommend to students who are interested in more of his work. In 2014, Smith gave an excellent TED talk titled “The Danger of Silence,” he has published two gorgeous collections of poetry, and he currently writes for The Atlantic. He’s also a relatively safe writer to recommend—most of his writing is appropriate for teenagers (though we still recommend reading it first).
That said, no matter how you decide to use “Something You Should Know,” or any of Smith’s work, don’t forget to pay attention to its underlying pulse, and its invitation to embrace your own vulnerability—terrifying as it may be.