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By Jack Joseph Smith

The Big Hunk As catching as you can be caught by the sea Only twice I'd been way beyond the bay Wisdom in the stars is when you can't see them And I was drunk enough to not walk across the water or turn and walk back into the village Still I say then Jesus and Zorba were on my shoulders Wind close and currents many times deeper than you Cod is one fish The madness of crab is another watched The faces I watched then care less about their beginning and don't even want to hear about The ending every time, but I sware they never cared for a wrinkel in the ocean The sand beneath the dock is shall Cut out from the banks to glimmer once in awhile, mostely sink in their shimmer The Earth the sky the Sea, forget playacting

Original Scan

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AI Interpretation

GPT

The Big Hunk puts a drunken speaker near sea, dock, Jesus, Zorba, cod, crab, and hidden currents until earth, sky, and sea strip away playacting.

Jesus and Zorba on the shoulders make a startling pair, joining sacred endurance to bodily appetite and recklessness. Cod and crab split the sea between ordinary fish and sideways madness, while currents deepen the scene beyond what can be easily seen. The people being watched care little about beginnings, endings, or a wrinkel in the ocean, so the final command to forget playacting reads as a demand for elemental honesty.


Claude

'The Big Hunk' sets a drunken speaker at the edge of the sea, 'caught by the sea', 'twice... way beyond the bay', too far gone 'to not walk across / the water'. He carries an odd pair, 'Jesus and Zorba... on my shoulders', sacred endurance beside bodily appetite, while 'Cod is one fish' and 'The madness of crab is another' split the deep. The watched faces 'care less about their / beginning' and 'never cared for a wrinkel in the ocean', so the final order to 'The Earth the sky the Sea' to 'forget playacting' reads as a demand for elemental honesty -- 'Wisdom in the stars is when you can't see them'.