"The Hand that Signed the Paper Felled a City", st. 1 (1936)
“
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.
— Dylan Thomas
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "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." in the context of ""The Hand that Signed the Paper Felled a City", st. 1 (1936)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Dylan Thomas" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
About Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer.
About Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer.
View all quotes →