Page 280

By Jack Joseph Smith

Say she was the best of pounding hooves across theprairies I have stood still inand about Woo she went across my plainsmen mind I'know I heard her over the trangle air Her voice saying the star that shines for you does not come and go but came and sent me to my feet On my crutches misstepping across the stoop of thetavern Off the street she picked me up With engagement for her singled out of the black bar came help to=pick=me=up I did not think a blank stare could mean so much but then don't weall know shadows on the wall

Original Scan

AI Interpretation

GPT

This variant keeps the pounding-hoof image but centers the speaker's astonishment at being lifted from the street by a force he associates with stars, crutches, tavern, and shadows.

The emphasis is gratitude and bewilderment. The corrected scan reading keeps the odd compounds and stuck-together words, which make the rescue feel rushed, breathless, and difficult to separate into clean thought.

Claude

'''Reworking of the tavern pickup scene. 'The best of pounding hooves across the prairies I have stood still in and about' -- her voice over 'the trangle air' becomes a stumbling 'blank stare' that means more than the shadows on the wall.'''