The Hand That Signed the Paper
The Hand That Signed the Paper - meaning Summary
Power Wielded by a Signature
The poem condemns political power exercised through signatures. A single hand's signed paper topples cities, multiplies death, and divides nations. Repeated hand and finger imagery links casual bureaucratic acts to mass suffering—treaties breed fever, famine, and silence. The "five kings" symbolize rulers who tally dead without compassion. Thomas exposes the mechanical, tearless nature of state violence and how written authority hides human consequences.
Read Complete AnalysesThe 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 that 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.
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