Page 17

By Jack Joseph Smith

’ ie Vi Children like saints have always lived in the boldness of Middle Eastern men Possibly thinning the white man's fear to stay, or the black man's fear to go Neither done in the mind, he remained in space Drugs being the closest thing to Earth, it appeared that he was saying sirs, : "go ahead and do your best" No avoidence of the yardarm, and not of the yoke Wild on the sea and burned in town squares ’ op with paints down, and buying kids milk an ols atk 4 5 if » pp i by el Eived from boats for iigagruntonses, wile on _/ 1 i} the sea his quickness wes yearned for by a thousand crews There is magic against the breeze for dancing No motor or main sail keeps us down turned .

Original Scan

Page 17

AI Interpretation

GPT

Children and saints are linked to Middle Eastern boldness here, giving the page a charged blend of innocence, history, and masculine force.

The poem sounds comparative and almost aphoristic. It uses cultural naming to create moral scale, even when that scale remains unstable.


Claude

A portrait of the middle-eastern sailor-saint whose quickness is yearned for by a thousand crews, paints down and buying kids milk, refusing yardarm and yoke — the page begins the long sailing sequence that pages 18–19 will recompose.