Page 10

By Jack Joseph Smith

Quenched I even saw Geronimo save us from the fire Still as a hippy I saw Che Guarive too That was a long dream Shorter ones have me and you I didN't see the walk beyond, [struck: m] but stepping stones were good for the heart Romantic and dispossessed How horrible for one who does not gamble, and only talks by making a guess Working behind a dog I found dead things, Apache and living as well I never knew were there Go where you have to go; start with the end Make the mistake of the dew drop; Allowing [struck: knowing] the spring is done But stay awake and forget sleep So To watch the mountains fall into the sea

Original Scan

AI Interpretation

GPT

The poem moves through remembered revolutionary and frontier figures, then turns toward dispossession, mistakes, wakefulness, and watching mountains fall into the sea.

The handwritten edits make the page feel like a draft revising its own mythic memory as it goes. Geronimo, Che, Apache, stepping stones, and the dew drop all sit inside one restless argument about survival, loss, and staying awake.

Claude

Titled 'Quenched,' the poem braids Geronimo, Che Guevara, and an Apache among 'found dead things' into a survivor's testament, 'Romantic and dispossessed.' The struck words and the closing imperative - 'start with the end,' 'stay awake and forget sleep' to 'watch the mountains fall into the sea' - read as advice handed down from the far edge of a dream.