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By Jack Joseph Smith

When he was you this old man LiKE thought that We all see the Earth now And as old as talk Truth stands in one place Laugh as one will "truth is that which is so" And if you want to direct your fist or your brain at Living, it isn't inbetween MAKE A POINT WE KNOW That dosen't get it, you can work at it, And EVEN fail in LOVE But if you want to stay young as you are, understand that youth has NEVER had inclusion Excepting song writers and poets When they begin and end at the same place And of course manual typewriters All of which Are made of mistakes

Original Scan

Page 308

AI Interpretation

GPT

An old man's thought about youth, truth, poets, failure in LOVE, and manual typewriters turns mistakes and exclusion into the conditions through which youth is understood.

Truth stands in one place, but reaching it still requires effort from fist or brain, as if conviction alone never settles the matter. The possibility of failing in LOVE makes the lesson less abstract and more bodily. Youth has NEVER had inclusion, while song writers, poets, and manual typewriters become exceptions whose beginnings and endings are made of mistakes.


Claude

This piece meditates on truth, age, and the peculiar exception granted to artists. The declaration that truth is that which is so sits as a plain anchor amid lines about directing fist or brain at Living and failing in LOVE. Youth has NEVER had inclusion, except through song writers and poets and, notably, manual typewriters, which are grouped with poets as things made of mistakes. The final equation of imperfection with authenticity ties creative work to error rather than purity.