By Jack Joseph Smith
Original Scan
AI Interpretation
"Nancy Ann" condenses the earlier partnership into a short, windblown portrait of shared defense, seduction, and family history.
This version is tighter and more lyrical than page 196, but it keeps the same back-to-back stance under pressure. Desire and danger are still inseparable, with the wildcat image giving their bond a sharp, toothy grin. The brief ending on the children makes the whole piece feel like a remembered crest rather than a full narrative.
A tighter, cleanly typed 'Nancy Ann' that keeps the same back-to-back stance under pressure - 'Seductive,. in the wind,. had me,' 'when back to back, / defending the yearning life we / knew; im one den after another' - with desire and danger still inseparable in 'both kinds,. / of wildcats' and 'a wilder / kind of smile,. across our teeth.' It breaks off abruptly on family - 'the history,. of out kids,. / shows the best part;' - so it reads as a remembered crest rather than a finished poem.