Page 94

By Jack Joseph Smith

95 j When school ia out today, I will walk her hone touching her sleevey It comes out from her shoulders, like a blossom; It's like I am toyched, I feel so weak between me, The organ mysic makes me high, I want to stand and turn my head with its sound, Papa Joe'a soul is dancing like the eyes of a red eyed cat, as he moves under a purple cloak just a level below Limbo; . Lent, and the going to six o!clock ifass is over now, but she is stiil a lilly for meg I am a hero nows Captain of a football team, that won all the games, Games) games) gone awmys practice was such a pain in the ass, No audience for kill the j H mans no practice need for killing, Five thousand people at a grade school football / game, I can't imagine that, But I ran beneath them with glory stringing my body i tight before I was of age, Or is anyone ever old in the mind, when they find 2 themselves a gladiator? Early in the morning of an April fool, we came cresping in the school, what a ball, to send the organ crashing down the hall, Break the lock on the nuns desk, and find the answere to our quest, Theavery of a nun is funny, there is never any moneys Take the study plans and switch them, they will never find them; Acroos the \ hall take this and over there take thats they will all be confused, if they remember yesterday and where they sat, Everything where it did not belong was put, so that when they saw, they would explode caput. Barricade the doorway with cBirs; today children, classes:will be held on the stairs, Here and there we will runy with no wails to echo voices: saying we are dumbg April fool, April fool,,Papa Joe let us 0, When everyone stood as soon, as the loud speaker said, who did it, and walked ! out of their room, and down the hall toward Mother Superior yelling, we admit its I won't go away from you I told her in the garbage can darlmess, behind the nightly silence of Beverly roads “he Lincoln bums imew I did it. They smiled a twinkle and :

Original Scan

Page 94

AI Interpretation

GPT

Lenten longing, football glory, and a wild April Fool's raid on the school collide, as Michael imagines walking the girl home while also reveling in prank chaos, confession, and garbage-can darkness on Beverly Road.

The page binds romance and delinquency together without apology, so altar desire and school sabotage feel like parallel forms of exaltation. Michael keeps moving between captain, lover, and trickster, as if all three roles belong to the same spring fever.


Claude

After Mass they walk home kiss by kiss, the organ music makes him high, Papa Joe's soul dances like a red-eyed cat below Limbo, and Michael is now captain of the football team that won all the games.