Page 35

By Jack Joseph Smith

Literature You got to be a myth You got to make that flesh and salt Watch it as you make it Impossible as swine you think That8 what to do in life, see the best of things That is why it is ok to cut the heads off, of those that don't It is gone isn't it, every second has promise lost The sky, the land below; you can not fly away or sink on purpose, when you are alive; counterdiction is the only friend you have Imagine Keepler seeing seven of the planits; just in his mind, well, he was a beaten boy You want to be tough, worship the cock and cunt; walk away slow, turn, or even gage, then swift... as you can get, rip the throat LEAVE your soul into shame early; later, will have no apeasement, or sorrow, sons and daughters read your life; don't let anybody tell you that Hemmingway, Dostoyevsky. London and Camue didn't work for the young See those hung by oak and from yardarm Watch your way along the sand and through the dirt Make your message on twig or from pole Be a church, be humored by truth, do love the soul, over again

Original Scan

AI Interpretation

GPT

The speaker presents writing as an ordeal involving myth, vision, brutality and responsibility toward the young.

Commands about flesh and salt move through violence, contradiction, Keepler and named writers. The inserted promise gives each lost second a further cost, and the close asks for love of the soul over again. An unread replacement after do and the placement of fly away or leave parts of the commands provisional.

Claude

'Literature' is a string of hard commands about the writing life: 'You got to be a myth / You got to make that flesh and salt', 'Impossible as swine you think', and 'counterdiction is the only / friend you have'. It invokes 'Keepler seeing seven of the planits; / just in his mind, well, he was a beaten boy', names 'Hemmingway, Dostoyevsky. / London and Camue', says 'you can not fly away or sink on purpose,', and ends 'Be a church, be humored by truth, do / love the soul, over again'.

The poem treats literature as an ordeal that demands myth-making, contradiction and a willingness to face brutality. Its tone swings between harsh imperatives and a closing near-benediction, and the handwritten revisions push it toward renewal ('over again') rather than toughness. A handwritten replacement after 'do' is not legible enough to read, so the last command stays partly open.