Summary

King explains that he likes to write poetry, but he does not consider himself much of a poet. He believes the poem “The Bone Church” works because it is a narrative poem. “The Bone Church” is a poem he wrote in college, but that original manuscript was lost. He dedicates this rework of the poem to his friend, Jimmy Smith, who read the poem during their university’s poetry hour.

The narrator in “The Bone Church” complains about the taste of the alcohol he is given, but asks for more to drink if those gathered want to hear his story. He tells that he was among a group of 32 people who went into a jungle. Only three — the narrator, Manning, and Revois — survived. The narrator is the only one left to tell the story. He says he does not mourn Manning because...