Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Dylan Thomas


THE HAND THAT SIGNED THE PAPER
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The hand that signed the paper felled a city;
Five sovereign fingers taxed the breath,
Doubled the globe of dead and halved a country;
These five kings did a king to death.
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The mighty hand leads to a sloping shoulder,
Five finger joints are cramped with chalk;
A gooses quill has put an end to murder
That put an end to talk.
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The hand that signed the treaty bred a fever,
And famine grew and locusts came,
Great is the hand that holds dominion over
Man by a scribbled name.
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The five kings count the dead but do not soften
The crusted wound nor pat the brow;
A hand rules pity as a hand rules heaven:
Hands have no tears to flow.

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