Page 69
By Jack Joseph Smith
Bending The Old Tree
Flutter the slightest space
of my eyelids
Way within
her long black hair
Move the elasticity
of my tongue
Over the balls
of her perfect feet
Original Scan
AI Interpretation
GPT
The speaker combines eyelids, a woman's long black hair, the tongue and the balls of her feet in a brief sensual address.
The title places bodily movement beside the bending of a tree. The poem gives no identity for the woman or narrative beyond the physical images.
Claude
'Bending The Old Tree' moves from 'Flutter the slightest space / of my eyelids' to 'Move the elasticity / of my tongue / Over the balls / of her perfect feet'.
An intimate poem built from small, precise physical movements; the title's bending tree frames the closeness as effort.