Page 148

By Jack Joseph Smith

That beyond the beginning The rivers refuse to call themselves by name,. they stay for you, native sons, they stay as veins, they stay for their own Roy Rogers is on your side, Young bucks, go into the mountains,. and take this country right back When I said we are out of here She saw I had her star in my eyes And I didn't see a whip out of her Right from the neighborhood, get out,. take her by the skirt Put it all in the back seat, and get-

Original Scan

AI Interpretation

GPT

This page surges from nameless rivers and native inheritance into flight, romance, and theft, as if the country itself were being seized back in one reckless motion.

The rivers are treated as bloodlines rather than landmarks, staying "as veins" for those who belong to them. Then the poem snaps into outlaw energy, with Roy Rogers, mountains, a girl, a car, and an unfinished getaway. That break in the last line suits the page: it is all momentum, possession, and escape.

Claude

'That beyond the beginning' treats rivers as bloodlines rather than landmarks - they 'refuse to call themselves / by name,' staying 'as veins' and 'for their own' native sons - then snaps into outlaw energy with 'Roy Rogers is on your side, / Young bucks, / go into the mountains,. / and take this country / right back.' The second half turns to flight and possession: 'She saw I had her star in my eyes,' the order to 'take her by the skirt / Put it all in the back seat,' and the deliberately unfinished getaway 'and get-,' leaving the page all momentum and escape.