Page 37
By Jack Joseph Smith
Pegan Except For Christ
Arms held more powerful than the iron in the nails
We know we go through the holes of Christ
Looking at the cross,, never amended
with
Making the sign of the cross, and our holy ghost
By Jack Joseph Smith
Original Scan
AI Interpretation
The speaker describes arms stronger than the iron of nails, passage through Christ's holes and making the sign of the cross with a holy ghost.
The speaker links the wounded body with a shared religious gesture. The handwritten with connects parts of the final passage, but the page does not provide a settled doctrinal explanation.
'Pegan Except For Christ': 'Arms held more powerful than the iron in the nails / We know we go through the holes of Christ', with a handwritten 'with' between the last typed rows, ending 'Making the sign of the cross, and our holy ghost'.
The poem sets an almost pagan physical strength against Christian ritual; Pegan is kept as typed.