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.