Page 16
By Jack Joseph Smith
By Jack Joseph Smith
Original Scan
AI Interpretation
The writer records fragments about becoming great men, gods as next of kin, surveillance, a father's health, borrowed money and the absence of alcohol.
The fragments move from watching and public risk to money that cannot be replaced and the energy of clear thought. Health and the swoon of the crowd remain provisional cursive readings; the placement should not imply that every speaker refers to the same person.
Handwritten notes: 'Our small attempts to be great men / To believe gods our next of kin', a block-letter warning 'IF YOU ThE NIGHT AS A WORKSHOP / YOU WILL BE WATCHED', 'You're all clear of the wall Captain', 'My father's health drops to far / to the swoon of the tight- / rope-walker's crowd to often', a line on 'Gambling with borrowed money', and 'The absence of Alcohol and the / clear logic Energy'.
The notes gather aphorisms about ambition, risk and sobriety. The warning lacks a verb and is left incomplete, and several cursive readings are provisional.