Page 67

By Jack Joseph Smith

Hit Something sharp; a stone you fell on, a corner top, outside the door now it's war Rock and roll isn't good enough, let's bust This blone over here is to drag to haul Let us take a boy and begin with him Isn't cherry an old car son You better make the sigh of the cross Care is up your mother's ass; sounds familiar, don't it; cross in my gut, make my lonesome, Killers get to first go back and kneel, just like anybody else Respect dashed picked up again and watched Curl your ass and take thee to the wooded area Lost as the last touch, ley loose; my God, this thuder is right on, a cleaning

Original Scan

AI Interpretation

GPT

The speaker connects a fall, war, threats and killers kneeling, ending with thunder and a cleaning.

The command to make the sigh of the cross retains sigh rather than sign. Killers get to first go back and kneel just like anybody else, so kneeling does not distinguish them from others. The final a cleaning follows the claim that the thunder is right on; it suggests cleansing within the violent scene without establishing absolution.

Claude

'Hit' starts with 'Something sharp; a stone you fell on' and moves to 'outside the door now it's war', 'let's bust', 'Let us take a boy and begin with him' and 'You better make the sigh of the cross'. It says 'Killers get to first go back and kneel, / just like anybody else', orders 'Curl your ass and take thee to the wooded area', and ends 'my God, / this thuder is right on, a cleaning'.

The poem runs a tough street voice together with church language, so crossing oneself, kneeling and 'thee' sit beside threats and violence. The handwritten close names the thunder 'a cleaning', leaving it unclear whether the violence is judged or blessed.