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More poems by Dylan ThomasDylan Thomas | Print this page.Print | Order a PoetryNotes Analysis of this poem.Analysis | View and Write CommentsComments (1)

The Hand That Signed The Paper

Dylan Thomas

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.

The mighty hand leads to a sloping shoulder,
The finger joints are cramped with chalk;
A goose's quill has put an end to murder
That put an end to talk.

The hand that signed the treaty bred a fever,
And famine grew, and locusts came;
Great is the hand the holds dominion over
Man by a scribbled name.

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.

Added: 3 Sep 2001 | Last Read: 1 Dec 2008 10:41 PM | Viewed: 9849 times

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URL: http://plagiarist.com/poetry/1141/ | Viewed on 1 December 2008.
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