Page 78
By Jack Joseph Smith
By Jack Joseph Smith
Original Scan
AI Interpretation
The speaker argues with departure itself: goodness can make someone stay or walk away, but origin remains tied to where they are, while literature, Jesus, endurance, and exhaustion press on a woman who has not killed yet.
The poem's misspellings and rough punctuation make its moral pressure feel immediate rather than polished. Literature is not decorative here; it is a stubborn thing that does not change or roll over when the speaker says it is too much. The final movement out of hell leaves survival intact but depleted, turning toughness into fatigue instead of triumph.
I would argue the point, but go ahead and keep on leaving the world. Literature doesn't change, doesn't roll over; her cross between delicate and tough, she hasn't killed yet.