Page 257

By Jack Joseph Smith

Political Christ Being there,, Jesus on both sides There is no loss of flowers And there still is a mule With white robes on top For a street person getting a stand on a stoop The unique of it Is that less has always known more about what more says does not exist Orr both sides Talking to terror

Original Scan

AI Interpretation

GPT

Political Christ doubles the stoop scene by placing Jesus on both sides, turning flowers, mule, street witness, and poverty's knowledge toward terror.

This version makes the religious frame explicit from the title forward, then immediately sets Jesus on both sides of a divided scene. The mule, white robes, and street person keep the sacred imagery grounded in ordinary poverty rather than institutional power. The closing phrase Talking to terror makes the poem less a comfort than a confrontation, with less still knowing what more denies.

Claude

Expanded 'Political Christ': Jesus on both sides, mule in white robes, less knowing more, closing on 'Talking to terror' as the turn into the next page.