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1 — Poem of Walt Whitman, an American.

I CELEBRATE myself,

And what I assume you shall assume,

For every atom belonging to me, as good belongs          to you.

I loafe and invite my soul,

I lean and loafe at my ease, observing a spear of          summer grass.

Houses and rooms are full of perfumes—the          shelves are crowded with perfumes,

I breathe the fragrance myself, and know it and          like it,

The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I          shall not let it.

The atmosphere is not a perfume, it has no taste          of the distillation, it is odorless,

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It is for my mouth forever, I am in love with it,

I will go to the bank by the wood, and become          undisguised and naked,

I am mad for it to be in contact with me.

The smoke of my own breath,

Echoes, ripples, buzzed whispers, love-root, silk-          thread, crotch, vine,

My respiration and inspiration, the beating of my          heart, the passing of blood and air through          my lungs,

The sniff of green leaves and dry leaves, and of          the shore and dark-colored sea-rocks, and of          hay in the barn,

The sound of the belched words of my voice,          words loosed to the eddies of the wind,

A few light kisses, a few embraces, a reaching          around of arms,

The play of shine and shade on the trees as the          supple boughs wag,

The delight alone, or in the rush of the streets, or          along the fields and hill-sides,

The feeling of health, the full-noon trill, the song          of me rising from bed and meeting the sun.

Have you reckoned a thousand acres much?          have you reckoned the earth much?

Have you practiced so long to learn to read?

Have you felt so proud to get at the meaning of          poems?

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Stop this day and night with me, and you shall          possess the origin of all poems,

You shall possess the good of the earth and sun —          there are millions of suns left,

You shall no longer take things at second or third          hand, nor look through the eyes of the dead,          nor feed on the spectres in books,

You shall not look through my eyes either, nor          take things from me,

You shall listen to all sides, and filter them from          yourself.

I have heard what the talkers were talking, the          talk of the beginning and the end,

But I do not talk of the beginning or the end.

There was never any more inception than there is          now,

Nor any more youth or age than there is now,

And will never be any more perfection than there          is now,

Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now.

Urge, and urge, and urge,

Always the procreant urge of the world.

Out of the dimness opposite equals advance —          always substance and increase, always sex,

Always a knit of identity, always distinction,          always a breed of life.

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To elaborate is no avail—learned and unlearned          feel that it is so.

Sure as the most certain sure, plumb in the          uprights, well entretied, braced in the          beams,

Stout as a horse, affectionate, haughty, electrical,

I and this mystery here we stand.

Clear and sweet is my soul, and clear and sweet          is all that is not my soul.

Lack one lacks both, and the unseen is proved          by the seen,

Till that becomes unseen, and receives proof in its          turn.

Showing the best and dividing it from the worst,          age vexes age,

Knowing the perfect fitness and equanimity of          things, while they discuss I am silent, and go          bathe and admire myself.

Welcome is every organ and attribute of me, and          of any man hearty and clean,

Not an inch nor a particle of an inch is vile, and          none shall be less familiar than the rest.

I am satisfied—I see, dance, laugh, sing;

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As the hugging and loving Bed-fellow sleeps at          my side through the night, and withdraws at          the peep of the day,

And leaves for me baskets covered with white          towels, swelling the house with their plenty,

Shall I postpone my acceptation and realization,          and scream at my eyes,

That they turn from gazing after and down the          road,

And forthwith cipher and show me to a cent,

Exactly the contents of one, and exactly the con-          tents of two, and which is ahead?

Trippers and askers surround me,

People I meet—the effect upon me of my early          life, of the ward and city I live in, of the          nation,

The latest news, discoveries, inventions, societies,          authors old and new,

My dinner, dress, associates, looks, work, compli-          ments, dues,

The real or fancied indifference of some man or          woman I love,

The sickness of one of my folks, or of myself, or          ill-doing, or loss or lack of money, or depress-          ions or exaltations,

They come to me days and nights and go from          me again,

But they are not the Me myself.

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Apart from the pulling and hauling stands what I          am,

Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle,          unitary,

Looks down, is erect, bends an arm on an          impalpable certain rest,

Looks with its side-curved head, curious what will          come next,

Both in and out of the game, and watching and          wondering at it.

Backward I see in my own days where I sweated          through fog with linguists and contenders,

I have no mockings or arguments—I witness and          wait.

I believe in you, my soul—the other I am must          not abase itself to you,

And you must not be abased to the other.

Loafe with me on the grass, loose the stop from          your throat,

Not words, not music or rhyme I want—not cus-          tom or lecture, not even the best,

Only the lull I like, the hum of your valved voice.

I mind how we lay in June, such a transparent          summer morning,

You settled your head athwart my hips, and gently          turned over upon me,

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And parted the shirt from my bosom-bone, and          plunged your tongue to my bare-stript heart,

And reached till you felt my beard, and reached          till you held my feet.

Swiftly arose and spread around me the peace          and joy and knowledge that pass all the art          and argument of the earth,

And I know that the hand of God is the promise          of my own,

And I know that the spirit of God is the brother          of my own,

And that all the men ever born are also my bro-          thers, and the women my sisters and lovers,

And that a kelson of the creation is love,

And limitless are leaves, stiff or drooping in the          fields,

And brown ants in the little wells beneath them,

And mossy scabs of the worm-fence, heaped stones,          elder, mullen, pokeweed.

A child said, What is the grass? fetching it to me          with full hands;

How could I answer the child? I do not know          what it is any more than he.

I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out          of hopeful green stuff woven.

Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord,

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A scented gift and remembrancer, designedly          dropped,

Bearing the owner's name someway in the corners,          that we may see and remark, and say Whose?

Or I guess the grass is itself a child, the produced          babe of the vegetation.

Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic,

And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and          narrow zones,

Growing among black folks as among white,

Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give          them the same, I receive them the same.

And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair          of graves.

Tenderly will I use you, curling grass,

It may be you transpire from the breasts of young          men,

It may be if I had known them I would have loved          them,

It may be you are from old people, and from          women, and from offspring taken soon out of          their mothers' laps,

And here you are the mothers' laps.

This grass is very dark to be from the white heads          of old mothers,

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Darker than the colorless beards of old men,

Dark to come from under the faint red roofs of          mouths.

O I perceive after all so many uttering tongues!

And I perceive they do not come from the roofs          of mouths for nothing.

I wish I could translate the hints about the dead          young men and women,

And the hints about old men and mothers, and the          offspring taken soon out of their laps.

What do you think has become of the young and          old men?

And what do you think has become of the women          and children?

They are alive and well somewhere,

The smallest sprout shows there is really no          death,

And if ever there was, it led forward life, and does          not wait at the end to arrest it,

And ceased the moment life appeared.

All goes onward and outward—nothing collapses,

And to die is different from what any one sup-          posed, and luckier.

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Has any one supposed it lucky to be born?

I hasten to inform him or her, it is just as lucky to          die, and I know it.

I pass death with the dying, and birth with the          new-washed babe, and am not contained be-          tween my hat and boots,

And peruse manifold objects, no two alike, and          every one good,

The earth good, and the stars good, and their ad-          juncts all good.

I am not an earth nor an adjunct of an earth,

I am the mate and companion of people, all just          as immortal and fathomless as myself;

They do not know how immortal, but I know.

Every kind for itself and its own—for me mine,          male and female,

For me those that have been boys and that love          women,

For me the man that is proud, and feels how it          stings to be slighted,

For me the sweetheart and the old maid—for me          mothers and the mothers of mothers,

For me lips that have smiled, eyes that have shed          tears,

For me children and the begetters of children.

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Who need be afraid of the merge?

Undrape! you are not guilty to me, nor stale, nor          discarded,

I see through the broadcloth and gingham, whether          or no,

And am around, tenacious, acquisitive, tireless,          and can never be shaken away.

The little one sleeps in its cradle,

I lift the gauze and look a long time, and silently          brush away flies with my hand.

The youngster and the red-faced girl turn aside          up the bushy hill,

I peeringly view them from the top.

The suicide sprawls on the bloody floor of the          bedroom,

It is so—I witnessed the corpse—there the          pistol had fallen.

The blab of the pave, the tires of carts, sluff of          boot-soles, talk of the promenaders,

The heavy omnibus, the driver with his interrogat-          ing thumb, the clank of the shod horses on          the granite floor,

The snow-sleighs, the clinking, shouted jokes,          pelts of snow-balls,

The hurrahs for popular favorites, the fury of          roused mobs,

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The flap of the curtained litter, the sick man in-          side, borne to the hospital,

The meeting of enemies, the sudden oath, the          blows and fall,

The excited crowd, the policeman with his star,          quickly working his passage to the centre of          the crowd,

The impassive stones that receive and return so          many echoes,

The souls moving along—are they invisible,          while the least of the stones is visible?

What groans of over-fed or half-starved who fall          sun-struck, or in fits,

What exclamations of women taken suddenly, who          hurry home and give birth to babes,

What living and buried speech is always vibrating          here, what howls restrained by decorum,

Arrests of criminals, slights, adulterous offers          made, acceptances, rejections with convex lips,

I mind them or the resonance of them—I come          and I depart.

The big doors of the country-barn stand open and          ready,

The dried grass of the harvest-time loads the          slow-drawn wagon,

The clear light plays on the brown gray and green          intertinged,

The armfuls are packed to the sagging mow;

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I am there, I help, I came stretched atop of the          load,

I felt its soft jolts, one leg reclined on the other;

I jump from the cross-beams and seize the clover          and timothy,

And roll head over heels, and tangle my hair full          of wisps.

Alone, far in the wilds and mountains, I hunt,

Wandering, amazed at my own lightness and glee,

In the late afternoon choosing a safe spot to pass          the night,

Kindling a fire and broiling the fresh-killed game,

Soundly falling asleep on the gathered leaves, my          dog and gun by my side.

The Yankee clipper is under her three sky-sails,          she cuts the sparkle and scud,

My eyes settle the land—I bend at her prow or          shout joyously from the deck.

The boatmen and clam-diggers arose early and          stopped for me,

I tucked my trowser-ends in my boots and went          and had a good time,

You should have been with us that day round the          chowder-kettle.

I saw the marriage of the trapper in the open air          in the far-west—the bride was a red girl,

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Her father and his friends sat near, cross-legged          and dumbly smoking—they had moccasins to          their feet and large thick blankets hanging          from their shoulders,

On a bank lounged the trapper, he was dressed          mostly in skins, his luxuriant beard and curls          protected his neck,

One hand rested on his rifle, the other hand held          firmly the wrist of the red girl,

She had long eyelashes, her head was bare, her          coarse straight locks descended upon her          voluptuous limbs and reached to her feet.

The runaway slave came to my house and          stopped outside,

I heard his motions crackling the twigs of the          wood-pile,

Through the swung half-door of the kitchen I saw          him limpsy and weak,

And went where he sat on a log, and led him in          and assured him,

And brought water and filled a tub for his sweated          body and bruised feet,

And gave him a room that entered from my own,          and gave him some coarse clean clothes,

And remember perfectly well his revolving eyes          and his awkwardness,

And remember putting plasters on the galls of his          neck and ankles;

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He staid with me a week before he was recuper-          ated and passed north,

I had him sit next me at table—my fire-lock          leaned in the corner.

Twenty-eight young men bathe by the shore,

Twenty-eight young men, and all so friendly,

Twenty-eight years of womanly life, and all so          lonesome.

She owns the fine house by the rise of the bank,

She hides, handsome and richly drest, aft the          blinds of the window.

Which of the young men does she like the best?

Ah, the homeliest of them is beautiful to her.

Where are you off to, lady? for I see you,

You splash in the water there, yet stay stock          still in your room.

Dancing and laughing along the beach came the          twenty-ninth bather,

The rest did not see her, but she saw them and          loved them.

The beards of the young men glistened with wet,          it ran from their long hair,

Little streams passed all over their bodies.

An unseen hand also passed over their bodies,

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It descended tremblingly from their temples and          ribs.

The young men float on their backs, their white          bellies bulge to the sun, they do not ask who          seizes fast to them,

They do not know who puffs and declines with          pendant and bending arch,

They do not think whom they souse with spray.

The butcher-boy puts off his killing-clothes, or          sharpens his knife at the stall in the mar-          ket,

I loiter, enjoying his repartee and his shuffle and          break-down.

Blacksmiths with grimed and hairy chests environ          the anvil,

Each has his main-sledge—they are all out —          there is a great heat in the fire.

From the cinder-strewed threshold I follow their          movements,

The lithe sheer of their waists plays even with          their massive arms,

Overhand the hammers roll, overhand so slow,          overhand so sure,

They do not hasten, each man hits in his place.

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The negro holds firmly the reins of his four          horses, the block swags underneath on its          tied-over chain,

The negro that drives the huge dray of the stone-          yard, steady and tall he stands poised on one          leg on the string-piece,

His blue shirt exposes his ample neck and breast,          and loosens over his hip-band,

His glance is calm and commanding, he tosses the          slouch of his hat away from his forehead,

The sun falls on his crispy hair and moustache,          falls on the black of his polish'd and perfect          limbs.

I behold the picturesque giant and love him, and          I do not stop there,

I go with the team also.

In me the caresser of life wherever moving, back-          ward as well as forward slueing,

To niches aside and junior bending.

Oxen that rattle the yoke or halt in the shade!          what is that you express in your eyes?

It seems to me more than all the print I have read          in my life.

My tread scares the wood-drake and wood-duck,          on my distant and day-long ramble,

They rise together, they slowly circle around;

I believe in those winged purposes,

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And acknowledge, red, yellow, white, playing          within me,

And consider green and violet, and the tufted          crown, intentional,

And do not call the tortoise unworthy because          she is not something else,

And the mocking-bird in the swamp never studied          the gamut, yet trills pretty well to me,

And the look of the bay mare shames silliness out          of me.

The wild gander leads his flock through the cool          night,

Ya-honk! he says, and sounds it down to me like          an invitation;

The pert may suppose it meaningless, but I listen          close,

I find its purpose and place up there toward the          November sky.

The sharp-hoofed moose of the north, the cat on          the house-sill, the chickadee, the prairie-dog,

The litter of the grunting sow as they tug at her          teats,

The brood of the turkey-hen, and she with her          half-spread wings,

I see in them and myself the same old law.

The press of my foot to the earth springs a hun-          dred affections,

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They scorn the best I can do to relate them.

I am enamoured of growing outdoors,

Of men that live among cattle, or taste of the          ocean or woods,

Of the builders and steerers of ships, of the wield-          ers of axes and mauls, of the drivers of          horses,

I can eat and sleep with them week in and week          out.

What is commonest, cheapest, nearest, easiest, is          Me,

Me going in for my chances, spending for vast          returns,

Adorning myself to bestow myself on the first that          will take me,

Not asking the sky to come down to my good-will,

Scattering it freely forever.

The pure contralto sings in the organ-loft,

The carpenter dresses his plank, the tongue of          his foreplane whistles its wild ascending lisp,

The married and unmarried children ride home to          their thanksgiving dinner,

The pilot seizes the king-pin, he heaves down          with a strong arm,

The mate stands braced in the whale-boat, lance          and harpoon are ready,

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The duck-shooter walks by silent and cautious          stretches,

The deacons are ordained with crossed hands at          the altar,

The spinning-girl retreats and advances to the          hum of the big wheel,

The farmer stops by the bars of a Sunday and          looks at the oats and rye,

The lunatic is carried at last to the asylum, a con-          firmed case,

He will never sleep any more as he did in the cot          in his mother's bedroom;

The jour printer with gray head and gaunt jaws          works at his case,

He turns his quid of tobacco, his eyes get blurred          with the manuscript;

The malformed limbs are tied to the anatomist's          table,

What is removed drops horribly in a pail;

The quadroon girl is sold at the stand—the          drunkard nods by the bar-room stove,

The machinist rolls up his sleeves—the police-          man travels his beat—the gate-keeper marks          who pass,

The young fellow drives the express-wagon —          I love him though I do not know him,

The half-breed straps on his light boots to com-          pete in the race,

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The western turkey-shooting draws old and young          —some lean on their rifles, some sit on logs,

Out from the crowd steps the marksman, takes          his position, levels his piece;

The groups of newly-come immigrants cover the          wharf or levee,

The woolly-pates hoe in the sugar-field, the over-          seer views them from his saddle,

The bugle calls in the ball-room, the gentlemen          run for their partners, the dancers bow to          each other,

The youth lies awake in the cedar-roofed garret,          and harks to the musical rain,

The Wolverine sets traps on the creek that helps          fill the Huron,

The reformer ascends the platform, he spouts with          his mouth and nose,

The company returns from its excursion, the          darkey brings up the rear and bears the well-          riddled target,

The squaw, wrapt in her yellow-hemmed cloth,          is offering moccasins and bead-bags for sale,

The connoisseur peers along the exhibition-          gallery with half-shut eyes bent side-ways,

The deck-hands make fast the steamboat, the plank          is thrown for the shore-going passengers,

The young sister holds out the skein, the elder          sister winds it off in a ball, and stops now          and then for the knots,

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The one-year wife is recovering and happy, a          week ago she bore her first child,

The clean-haired Yankee girl works with her sew-          ing-machine, or in the factory or mill,

The nine months' gone is in the parturition cham-          ber, her faintness and pains are advancing,

The paving-man leans on his two-handed rammer          —the reporter's lead flies swiftly over the          note-book—the sign-painter is lettering with          red and gold,

The canal-boy trots on the tow-path—the book-          keeper counts at his desk—the shoemaker          waxes his thread,

The conductor beats time for the band, and all the          performers follow him,

The child is baptised—the convert is making the          first professions,

The regatta is spread on the bay—how the white          sails sparkle!

The drover watches his drove, he sings out to          them that would stray,

The pedlar sweats with his pack on his back, the          purchaser higgles about the odd cent,

The camera and plate are prepared, the lady must          sit for her daguerreotype,

The bride unrumples her white dress, the minute-          hand of the clock moves slowly,

The opium-eater reclines with rigid head and just-          opened lips,

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The prostitute draggles her shawl, her bonnet          bobs on her tipsy and pimpled neck,

The crowd laugh at her blackguard oaths, the          men jeer and wink to each other,

(Miserable! I do not laugh at your oaths, nor          jeer you;)

The President holds a cabinet council, he is sur-          rounded by the Great Secretaries,

On the piazza walk five friendly matrons with          twined arms,

The crew of the fish-smack pack repeated layers          of halibut in the hold,

The Missourian crosses the plains, toting his          wares and his cattle,

The fare-collector goes through the train, he gives          notice by the jingling of loose change,

The floor-men are laying the floor—the tinners          are tinning the roof—the masons are calling          for mortar,

In single file, each shouldering his hod, pass on-          ward the laborers,

Seasons pursuing each other, the indescribable          crowd is gathered—it is the Fourth of July          —what salutes of cannon and small arms!

Seasons pursuing each other, the plougher ploughs,          the mower mows, and the winter-grain falls          in the ground,

Off on the lakes the pike-fisher watches and waits          by the hole in the frozen surface,

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The stumps stand thick round the clearing, the          squatter strikes deep with his axe,

Flatboatmen make fast toward dusk near the cot-          ton-wood or pekan-trees,

Coon-seekers go through the regions of the Red          river, or through those drained by the Ten-          nessee, or through those of the Arkansaw,

Torches shine in the dark that hangs on the Chat-          tahoochee or Altamahaw,

Patriarchs sit at supper with sons and grandsons          and great-grandsons around them,

In walls of adobe, in canvass tents, rest hunters          and trappers after their day's sport,

The city sleeps and the country sleeps,

The living sleep for their time, the dead sleep          for their time.

The old husband sleeps by his wife, and the young          husband sleeps by his wife;

And these one and all tend inward to me, and I          tend outward to them,

And such as it is to be of these, more or less, I am.

I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as          the wise,

Regardless of others, ever regardful of others,

Maternal as well as paternal, a child as well as a          man,

Stuffed with the stuff that is coarse, and stuffed          with the stuff that is fine,

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One of the great nation, the nation of many          nations, the smallest the same, the largest          the same,

A southerner soon as a northerner, a planter non-          chalant and hospitable,

A Yankee bound my own way, ready for trade,          my joints the limberest joints on earth and          the sternest joints on earth,

A Kentuckian walking the vale of the Elkhorn in          my deer-skin leggings,

A boatman over lakes or bays, or along coasts —          a Hoosier, Badger, Buckeye,

A Louisianian or Georgian, a Poke-easy from          sand-hills and pines,

At home on Canadian snow-shoes, or up in the          bush, or with fishermen off Newfoundland,

At home in the fleet of ice-boats, sailing with the          rest, and tacking,

At home on the hills of Vermont, or in the woods          of Maine, or the Texan ranch,

Comrade of Californians, comrade of free north-          westerners, loving their big proportions.

Comrade of raftsmen and coalmen, comrade of all          who shake hands and welcome to drink and          meat,

A learner with the simplest, a teacher of the          thoughtfulest,

A novice beginning, experient of myriads of sea-          sons,

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Of every hue, trade, rank, of every caste and re-          ligion,

Not merely of the New World, but of Africa,          Europe, Asia—a wandering savage,

A farmer, mechanic, artist, gentleman, sailor,          lover, quaker,

A prisoner, fancy-man, rowdy, lawyer, physician,          priest.

I resist anything better than my own diversity,

And breathe the air, and leave plenty after me,

And am not stuck up, and am in my place.

The moth and the fish-eggs are in their place,

The suns I see, and the suns I cannot see, are          in their place,

The palpable is in its place, and the impalpable          is in its place.

These are the thoughts of all men in all ages          and lands, they are not original with me,

If they are not yours as much as mine, they are          nothing, or next to nothing,

If they do not enclose everything, they are next          to nothing,

If they are not the riddle and the untying of the          riddle, they are nothing,

If they are not just as close as they are distant,          they are nothing.

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This is the grass that grows wherever the land          is and the water is,

This is the common air that bathes the globe.

This is the breath of laws, songs, behaviour,

This is the tasteless water of souls, this is the          true sustenance,

It is for the illiterate, it is for the judges of the          supreme court, it is for the federal capitol          and the state capitols,

It is for the admirable communes of literats,          composers, singers, lecturers, engineers, sa-          vans,

It is for the endless races of work-people, farm-          ers, seamen.

These are trills of thousands of clear cornets,          screams of octave flutes, strike of triangles.

I play not a march for victors only, I play great          marches for conquered and slain persons.

Have you heard that it was good to gain the day?

I also say it is good to fall—battles are lost in          the same spirit in which they are won.

I beat triumphal drums for the dead, I blow through          my embouchures my loudest and gayest music          to them,

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Vivas to those who have failed! and to those          whose war-vessels sank in the sea! and          those themselves who sank in the sea!

And to all generals that lost engagements! and all          overcome heroes! and the numberless un-          known heroes, equal to the greatest heroes          known!

This is the meal pleasantly set, this is the meat          and drink for natural hunger,

It is for the wicked just the same as the righteous          —I make appointments with all,

I will not have a single person slighted or left          away,

The kept-woman, sponger, thief, are hereby in-          vited—the heavy-lipped slave is invited,          the venerealee is invited,

There shall be no difference between them and          the rest.

This is the press of a bashful hand, this is the          float and odor of hair,

This is the touch of my lips to yours, this is the          murmur of yearning,

This is the far-off depth and height reflecting my          own face,

This is the thoughtful merge of myself, and the          outlet again.

Do you guess I have some intricate purpose?

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Well, I have—for the April rain has, and the mica          on the side of a rock has.

Do you take it I would astonish?

Does the daylight astonish? Does the early red-          start, twittering through the woods?

Do I astonish more than they?

This hour I tell things in confidence,

I might not tell everybody, but I will tell you.

Who goes there! hankering, gross, mystical, nude?

How is it I extract strength from the beef I eat?

What is a man anyhow? What am I? What          are you?

All I mark as my own, you shall offset it with          your own,

Else it were time lost listening to me.

I do not snivel that snivel the world over,

That months are vacuums, and the ground but          wallow and filth,

That life is a suck and a sell, and nothing remains          at the end but threadbare crape and tears.

Whimpering and truckling fold with powders for          invalids, conformity goes to the fourth-          removed,

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I cock my hat as I please, indoors or out.

Shall I pray? Shall I venerate and be cere-          monious?

I have pried through the strata, analyzed to a hair,

Counselled with doctors, calculated close, found no          sweeter fat than sticks to my own bones.

In all people I see myself—none more, not one a          barleycorn less,

And the good or bad I say of myself I say of          them.

And I know I am solid and sound,

To me the converging objects of the universe per-          petually flow,

All are written to me, and I must get what the          writing means.

I know I am deathless,

I know this orbit of mine cannot be swept by a          carpenter's compass,

I know I shall not pass like a child's carlacue cut          with a burnt stick at night.

I know I am august,

I do not trouble my spirit to vindicate itself or be          understood,

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I see that the elementary laws never apologize,

I reckon I behave no prouder than the level I          plant my house by, after all.

I exist as I am, that is enough,

If no other in the world be aware, I sit content,

And if each and all be aware, I sit content.

One world is aware, and by far the largest to me,          and that is myself,

And whether I come to my own today, or in ten          thousand or ten million years,

I can cheerfully take it now, or with equal cheer-          fulness I can wait.

My foothold is tenoned and mortised in granite,

I laugh at what you call dissolution,

And I know the amplitude of time.

I am the poet of the body,

And I am the poet of the soul.

The pleasures of heaven are with me, and the          pains of hell are with me,

The first I graft and increase upon myself, the          latter I translate into a new tongue.

I am the poet of the woman the same as the man,

And I say it is as great to be a woman as to be a          man,

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And I say there is nothing greater than the mother          of men.

I chant the chant of dilation or pride,

We have had ducking and deprecating about          enough,

I show that size is only development.

Have you outstript the rest? are you the          President?

It is a trifle—they will more than arrive there          every one, and still pass on.

I am he that walks with the tender and growing          night,

I call to the earth and sea, half-held by the night.

Press close, bare-bosomed night! press close,          magnetic, nourishing night!

Night of south winds! night of the large few          stars!

Still, nodding night! mad, naked, summer night!

Smile, O voluptuous, cool-breathed earth!

Earth of the slumbering and liquid trees!

Earth of departed sunset! earth of the moun-          tains, misty-topt!

Earth of the vitreous pour of the full moon, just          tinged with blue!

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Earth of shine and dark, mottling the tide of the          river!

Earth of the limpid gray of clouds, brighter and          clearer for my sake!

Far-swooping elbowed earth! rich, apple-blos-          somed earth!

Smile, for your lover comes!

Prodigal, you have given me love! therefore I          to you give love!

O unspeakable passionate love!

Thruster holding me tight, and that I hold tight!

We hurt each other as the bridegroom and the          bride hurt each other.

You sea! I resign myself to you also, I guess          what you mean,

I behold from the beach your crooked inviting          fingers,

I believe you refuse to go back without feeling of          me,

We must have a turn together—I undress —          hurry me out of sight of the land,

Cushion me soft, rock me in billowy drowse,

Dash me with amorous wet, I can repay you.

Sea of stretched ground-swells!

Sea breathing broad and convulsive breaths!

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Sea of the brine of life! sea of unshovelled and          always-ready graves!

Howler and scooper of storms! capricious and          dainty sea!

I am integral with you—I too am of one phase,          and of all phases.

Partaker of influx and efflux, extoller of hate and          conciliation,

Extoller of amies, and those that sleep in each          others' arms.

I am he attesting sympathy,

Shall I make my list of things in the house, and          skip the house that supports them?

I am the poet of commonsense, and of the demon-          strable, and of immortality,

And am not the poet of goodness only—I do not          decline to be the poet of wickedness also.

Washes and razors for foofoos—for me freckles          and a bristling beard.

What blurt is this about virtue and about vice?

Evil propels me, and reform of evil propels me —          I stand indifferent,

My gait is no fault-finder's or rejecter's gait,

I moisten the roots of all that has grown.

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Did you fear some scrofula out of the unflagging          pregnancy?

Did you guess the celestial laws are yet to be          worked over and rectified?

I step up to say that what we do is right, and          what we affirm is right, and some is only the          ore of right,

Witnesses of us, one side a balance, and the anti-          podal side a balance,

Soft doctrine as steady help as stable doctrine,

Thoughts and deeds of the present, our rouse and          early start.

This minute that comes to me over the past de-          cillions,

There is no better than it and now.

What behaved well in the past, or behaves well          today, is not such a wonder,

The wonder is always and always how can there          be a mean man or an infidel.

Endless unfolding of words of ages!

And mine a word of the modern—a word en-          masse,

A word of the faith that never balks,

One time as good as another time—here or          henceforward it is all the same to me,

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A word of reality, materialism first and last im-          bueing.

Hurrah for positive science! long live exact          demonstration!

Fetch stonecrop, mix it with cedar and branches          of lilac,

This is the lexicographer, this the chemist, this          made a grammar of the old cartouches,

These mariners put the ship through dangerous          unknown seas,

This is the geologist, this works with the scalpel,          and this is a mathematician.

Gentlemen, I receive you and attach and clasp          hands with you,

The facts are useful and real—they are not my          dwelling—I enter by them to an area of the          dwelling.

I am less the reminder of property or qualities,          and more the reminder of life,

And go on the square for my own sake and for          others' sakes,

And make short account of neuters and geldings,          and favor men and women fully equipped,

And beat the gong of revolt, and stop with fugi-          tives and them that plot and conspire.

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Walt Whitman, an American, one of the roughs,          a kosmos,

Disorderly, fleshy, sensual, eating, drinking, breed-          ing,

No sentimentalist, no stander above men and wo-          men, or apart from them—no more modest          than immodest.

Unscrew the locks from the doors!

Unscrew the doors themselves from their jambs!

Whoever degrades another degrades me, and          whatever is done or said returns at last to          me,

And whatever I do or say, I also return.

Through me the afflatus surging and surging —          through me the current and index.

I speak the pass-word primeval, I give the sign          of democracy,

By God! I will accept nothing which all cannot          have their counterpart of on the same terms.

Through me many long dumb voices,

Voices of the interminable generations of slaves,

Voices of prostitutes, and of deformed persons,

Voices of the diseased and despairing, and of          thieves and dwarfs,

Voices of cycles of preparation and accretion,

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And of the threads that connect the stars, and of          wombs, and of the fatherstuff,

And of the rights of them the others are down          upon,

Of the trivial, flat, foolish, despised,

Fog in the air, beetles rolling balls of dung.

Through me forbidden voices,

Voices of sexes and lusts—voices veiled, and I          remove the veil,

Voices indecent, by me clarified and transfigured.

I do not press my finger across my mouth,

I keep as delicate around the bowels as around          the head and heart,

Copulation is no more rank to me than death is.

I believe in the flesh and the appetites,

Seeing, hearing, feeling, are miracles, and each          part and tag of me is a miracle.

Divine am I inside and out, and I make holy          whatever I touch or am touched from,

The scent of these arm-pits is aroma finer than          prayer,

This head is more than churches, bibles, creeds.

If I worship any particular thing, it shall be some          of the spread of my own body,

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Translucent mould of me, it shall be you!

Shaded ledges and rests, firm masculine coulter, it          shall be you!

Whatever goes to the tilth of me, it shall be you!

You my rich blood! your milky stream, pale strip-          pings of my life!

Breast that presses against other breasts, it shall          be you!

My brain, it shall be your occult convolutions!

Root of washed sweet-flag, timorous pond-snipe,          nest of guarded duplicate eggs, it shall be          you!

Mixed tussled hay of head, beard, brawn, it shall          be you!

Trickling sap of maple, fibre of manly wheat, it          shall be you!

Sun so generous, it shall be you!

Vapors lighting and shading my face, it shall be          you!

You sweaty brooks and dews, it shall be you!

Winds whose soft-tickling genitals rub against          me, it shall be you!

Broad muscular fields, branches of live-oak, loving          lounger in my winding paths, it shall be you!

Hands I have taken, face I have kissed, mortal I          have ever touched, it shall be you!

I dote on myself, there is that lot of me, and all so          luscious,

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Each moment, and whatever happens, thrills me          with joy.

I cannot tell how my ankles bend, nor whence the          cause of my faintest wish,

Nor the cause of the friendship I emit, nor the          cause of the friendship I take again.

To walk up my stoop is unaccountable, I pause to          consider if it really be,

That I eat and drink is spectacle enough for the          great authors and schools,

A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more          than the metaphysics of books.

To behold the day-break!

The little light fades the immense and diaphanous          shadows,

The air tastes good to my palate.

Hefts of the moving world at innocent gambols,          silently rising, freshly exuding,

Scooting obliquely high and low.

Something I cannot see puts upward libidinous          prongs,

Seas of bright juice suffuse heaven.

The earth by the sky staid with, the daily close          of their junction,

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The heaved challenge from the east that moment          over my head,

The mocking taunt, See then whether you shall          be master!

Dazzling and tremendous, how quick the sun-rise          would kill me,

If I could not now and always send sun-rise out          of me.

We also ascend dazzling and tremendous as the          sun,

We found our own, my soul, in the calm and cool          of the day-break.

My voice goes after what my eyes cannot          reach,

With the twirl of my tongue I encompass worlds,          and volumes of worlds.

Speech is the twin of my vision, it is unequal to          measure itself.

It provokes me forever,

It says sarcastically, Walt, you understand          enough, why don't you let it out then?

Come now, I will not be tantalized, you conceive          too much of articulation.

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Do you not know how the buds beneath are          folded?

Waiting in gloom, protected by frost,

The dirt receding before my prophetical screams,

I underlying causes, to balance them at last,

My knowledge my live parts, it keeping tally with          the meaning of things,

Happiness, which, whoever hears me, let him or          her set out in search of this day.

My final merit I refuse you—I refuse putting          from me the best I am.

Encompass worlds, but never try to encompass          me,

I crowd your noisiest talk by looking toward you.

Writing and talk do not prove me,

I carry the plenum of proof, and every thing else,          in my face,

With the hush of my lips I confound the topmost          skeptic.

I think I will do nothing for a long time but listen,

To accrue what I hear into myself, to let sounds          contribute toward me.

I hear bravuras of birds, bustle of growing wheat,          gossip of flames, clack of sticks cooking my          meals.

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I hear the sound I love, the sound of the human          voice,

I hear all sounds as they are tuned to their uses,          sounds of the city and sounds out of the city,          sounds of the day and night,

Talkative young ones to those that like them, the          recitative of fish-pedlars and fruit-pedlars, the          loud laugh of work-people at their meals,

The angry base of disjointed friendship, the faint          tones of the sick,

The judge with hands tight to the desk, his          shaky lips pronouncing a death-sentence,

The heave'e'yo of stevedores unlading ships by the          wharves, the refrain of the anchor-lifters,

The ring of alarm-bells, the cry of fire, the          whirr of swift-streaking engines and hose-          carts, with premonitory tinkles and colored          lights,

The steam-whistle, the solid roll of the train of          approaching cars,

The slow-march played at night at the head of the          association,

They go to guard some corpse, the flag-tops are          draped with black muslin.

I hear the violincello or man's heart's complaint,

I hear the keyed cornet, it glides quickly in          through my ears, it shakes mad-sweet pangs          through my belly and breast.

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I hear the chorus, it is a grand-opera—this in-          deed is music!

A tenor large and fresh as the creation fills me,

The orbic flex of his mouth is pouring and filling          me full.

I hear the trained soprano, she convulses me like          the climax of my love-grip,

The orchestra wrenches such ardors from me, I          did not know I possessed them,

It throbs me to gulps of the farthest down horror,

It sails me, I dab with bare feet, they are licked          by the indolent waves,

I am exposed, cut by bitter and poisoned hail,

Steeped amid honeyed morphine, my windpipe          squeezed in the fakes of death,

Let up again to feel the puzzle of puzzles,

And that we call Being.

To be in any form, what is that?

If nothing lay more developed, the quahaug in its          callous shell were enough.

Mine is no callous shell,

I have instant conductors all over me, whether I          pass or stop,

They seize every object and lead it harmlessly          through me.

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I merely stir, press, feel with my fingers, and am          happy,

To touch my person to some one else's is about          as much as I can stand.

Is this then a touch? quivering me to a new          identity,

Flames and ether making a rush for my veins,

Treacherous tip of me reaching and crowding to          help them,

My flesh and blood playing out lightning to strike          what is hardly different from myself,

On all sides prurient provokers stiffening my          limbs,

Straining the udder of my heart for its withheld          drip,

Behaving licentious toward me, taking no denial,

Depriving me of my best, as for a purpose,

Unbuttoning my clothes, holding me by the bare          waist,

Deluding my confusion with the calm of the          sun-light and pasture-fields,

Immodestly sliding the fellow-senses away,

They bribed to swap off with touch, and go and          graze at the edges of me,

No consideration, no regard for my draining          strength or my anger,

Fetching the rest of the herd around to enjoy them          awhile,

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Then all uniting to stand on a head-land and          worry me.

The sentries desert every other part of me,

They have left me helpless to a red marauder,

They all come to the head-land, to witness and          assist against me.

I am given up by traitors!

I talk wildly, I have lost my wits, I and nobody          else am the greatest traitor,

I went myself first to the head-land, my own hands          carried me there.

You villain touch! what are you doing? my          breath is tight in its throat,

Unclench your floodgates! you are too much for          me.

Blind, loving, wrestling touch! sheathed, hooded,          sharp-toothed touch!

Did it make you ache so, leaving me?

Parting, tracked by arriving—perpetual payment          of the perpetual loan,

Rich showering rain, and recompense richer after-          ward.

Sprouts take and accumulate—stand by the curb          prolific and vital,

Landscapes, projected, masculine, full-sized, golden.

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All truths wait in all things,

They neither hasten their own delivery, nor resist          it,

They do not need the obstetric forceps of the          surgeon,

The insignificant is as big to me as any,

What is less or more than a touch?

Logic and sermons never convince,

The damp of the night drives deeper into my soul.

Only what proves itself to every man and woman          is so,

Only what nobody denies is so.

A minute and a drop of me settle my brain,

I believe the soggy clods shall become lovers and          lamps,

And a compend of compends is the meat of a man          or woman,

And a summit and flower there is the feeling they          have for each other,

And they are to branch boundlessly out of that          lesson until it becomes omnific,

And until every one shall delight us, and we          them.

I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-          work of the stars,

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And the pismire is equally perfect, and a grain of          sand, and the egg of the wren,

And the tree-toad is a chef-d'ouvre for the highest,

And the running blackberry would adorn the          parlors of heaven,

And the narrowest hinge in my hand puts to scorn          all machinery,

And the cow crunching with depressed head sur-          passes any statue,

And a mouse is miracle enough to stagger sex-          tillions of infidels,

And I could come every afternoon of my life to          look at the farmer's girl boiling her iron tea-          kettle and baking short-cake.

I find I incorporate gneiss, coal, long-threaded          moss, fruits, grains, esculent roots,

And am stucco'd with quadrupeds and birds all over,

And have distanced what is behind me for good          reasons,

And call any thing close again, when I desire it.

In vain the speeding or shyness,

In vain the plutonic rocks send their old heat          against my approach,

In vain the mastadon retreats beneath its own          powdered bones,

In vain objects stand leagues off, and assume          manifold shapes,

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In vain the ocean settling in hollows, and the great          monsters lying low,

In vain the buzzard houses herself with the sky,

In vain the snake slides through the creepers and          logs,

In vain the elk takes to the inner passes of the          woods,

In vain the razor-billed auk sails far north to          Labrador,

I follow quickly, I ascend to the nest in the fissure          of the cliff.

I think I could turn and live with animals, they          are so placid and self-contained,

I stand and look at them sometimes half the day          long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condi-          tion,

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for          their sins,

They do not make me sick discussing their duty          to God,

No one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with          the mania of owning things,

Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that          lived thousands of years ago,

Not one is respectable or industrious over the          whole earth.

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So they show their relations to me, and I accept          them,

They bring me tokens of myself, they evince them          plainly in their possession.

I do not know where they got those tokens,

I may have passed that way untold times ago and          negligently dropt them,

Myself moving forward then and now and forever,

Gathering and showing more always and with          velocity,

Infinite and omnigenous, and the like of these          among them,

Not too exclusive toward the reachers of my re-          membrancers,

Picking out here one that I love, choosing to go          with him on brotherly terms.

A gigantic beauty of a stallion, fresh and respon-          sive to my caresses,

Head high in the forehead, wide between the          ears,

Limbs glossy and supple, tail dusting the ground,

Eyes well apart, full of sparkling wickedness, ears          finely cut, flexibly moving.

His nostrils dilate, my heels embrace him, his          well-built limbs tremble with pleasure, we          speed around and return.

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I but use you a moment, then I resign you stal-          lion, do not need your paces, out-gallop them,

Myself, as I stand or sit, passing faster than you.

Swift wind! space! my soul! now I know it is          true, what I guessed at,

What I guessed when I loafed on the grass,

What I guessed while I lay alone in my bed, and          again as I walked the beach under the paling          stars of the morning.

My ties and ballasts leave me—I travel, I sail,          my elbows rest in the sea-gaps,

I skirt the sierras, my palms cover continents,

I am afoot with my vision.

By the city's quadrangular houses, in log-huts,          camping with lumber-men,

Along the ruts of the turnpike, along the dry gulch          and rivulet bed,

Weeding my onion-patch, hoeing rows of carrots          and parsnips, crossing savannas, trailing in          forests,

Prospecting, gold-digging, girdling the trees of a          new purchase,

Scorched ankle-deep by the hot sand, hauling my          boat down the shallow river,

Where the panther walks to and fro on a limb          overhead, where the buck turns furiously at          the hunter,

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Where the rattle-snake suns his flabby length on          a rock, where the otter is feeding on fish,

Where the alligator in his tough pimples sleeps          by the bayou,

Where the black bear is searching for roots or          honey, where the beaver pats the mud with          his paddle-tail,

Over the growing sugar, over the cotton-plant,          over the rice in its low moist field,

Over the sharp-peaked farm-house, with its scal-          loped scum and slender shoots from the gut-          ters,

Over the western persimmon, over the long-leaved          corn, over the delicate blue-flowered flax,

Over the white and brown buckwheat, a hummer          and buzzer there with the rest,

Over the dusky green of the rye as it ripples and          shades in the breeze,

Scaling mountains, pulling myself cautiously up,          holding on by low scragged limbs,

Walking the path worn in the grass and beat          through the leaves of the brush,

Where the quail is whistling betwixt the woods          and the wheat-lot,

Where the bat flies in the July eve, where the          great gold-bug drops through the dark,

Where the flails keep time on the barn floor,

Where the brook puts out of the roots of the old          tree and flows to the meadow,

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Where cattle stand and shake away flies with the          tremulous shuddering of their hides,

Where the cheese-cloth hangs in the kitchen, where          andirons straddle the hearth-slab, where cob-          webs fall in festoons from the rafters,

Where trip-hammers crash, where the press is          whirling its cylinders,

Wherever the human heart beats with terrible          throes out of its ribs,

Where the pear-shaped balloon is floating aloft,          floating in it myself and looking composedly          down,

Where the life-car is drawn on the slip-noose,          where the heat hatches pale-green eggs in          the dented sand,

Where the she-whale swims with her calves and          never forsakes them,

Where the steam-ship trails hind-ways its long          pennant of smoke,

Where the ground-shark's fin cuts like a black          chip out of the water,

Where the half-burned brig is riding on unknown          currents,

Where shells grow to her slimy deck, where the          dead are corrupting below,

Where the striped and starred flag is borne at the          head of the regiments,

Approaching Manhattan, up by the long-stretching          island,

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Under Niagara, the cataract falling like a veil          over my countenance,

Upon a door-step, upon the horse-block of hard          wood outside,

Upon the race-course, or enjoying pic-nics or jigs,          or a good game of base-ball,

At he-festivals, with blackguard jibes, ironical li-          cense, bull-dances, drinking, laughter,

At the cider-mill, tasting the sweet of the brown          sqush, sucking the juice through a straw,

At apple-peelings, wanting kisses for all the red          fruit I find,

At musters, beach-parties, friendly bees, huskings,          house-raisings;

Where the mocking-bird sounds his delicious gur-          gles, cackles, screams, weeps,

Where the hay-rick stands in the barn-yard, where          the dry-stalks are scattered, where the brood          cow waits in the hovel,

Where the bull advances to do his masculine          work, where the stud to the mare, where the          cock is treading the hen,

Where heifers browse, where geese nip their food          with short jerks,

Where sun-down shadows lengthen over the limit-          less and lonesome prairie,

Where herds of buffalo make a crawling spread          of the square miles far and near,

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Where the humming-bird shimmers, where the          neck of the long-lived swan is curving and          winding,

Where the laughing-gull scoots by the shore,          where she laughs her near-human laugh,

Where bee-hives range on a gray bench in the          garden, half-hid by the high weeds,

Where band-necked partridges roost in a ring on          the ground with their heads out,

Where burial coaches enter the arched gates of a          cemetery,

Where winter wolves bark amid wastes of snow          and icicled trees,

Where the yellow-crowned heron comes to the          edge of the marsh at night and feeds upon          small crabs,

Where the splash of swimmers and divers cool          the warm noon,

Where the katy-did works her chromatic reed on          the walnut-tree over the well,

Through patches of citrons and cucumbers with          silver-wired leaves,

Through the salt-lick or orange glade, under coni-          cal firs,

Through the gymnasium, through the curtained          saloon, through the office or public hall,

Pleased with the native, pleased with the foreign,          pleased with the new and old,

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Pleased with women, the homely as well as the          handsome,

Pleased with the quakeress as she puts off her          bonnet and talks melodiously,

Pleased with the tunes of the choir of the white-          washed church,

Pleased with the earnest words of the sweating          Methodist preacher, or any preacher—look-          ing seriously at the camp-meeting,

Looking in at the shop-windows in Broadway the          whole forenoon, pressing the flesh of my nose          to the thick plate-glass,

Wandering the same afternoon with my face          turned up to the clouds,

My right and left arms round the sides of two          friends, and I in the middle;

Coming home with the bearded and dark-cheeked          bush-boy, riding behind him at the drape of          the day,

Far from the settlements, studying the print of          animals' feet, or the moccasin print,

By the cot in the hospital reaching lemonade to a          feverish patient,

By the coffined corpse when all is still examin-          ing with a candle,

Voyaging to every port to dicker and adven-          ture,

Hurrying with the modern crowd, as eager and          fickle as any,

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Hot toward one I hate ready in my madness to          knife him,

Solitary at midnight in my back yard, my thoughts          gone from me a long while,

Walking the old hills of Judea, with the beautiful          gentle god by my side,

Speeding through space, speeding through heaven          and the stars,

Speeding amid the seven satellites, and the broad          ring, and the diameter of eighty thousand          miles,

Speeding with tailed meteors, throwing fire-balls          like the rest,

Carrying the crescent child that carries its own          full mother in its belly,

Storming, enjoying, planning, loving, cautioning,

Backing and filling, appearing and disappearing,

I tread day and night such roads.

I visit the orchards of spheres and look at the          product,

And look at quintillions ripened, and look at quin-          tillions green.

I fly the flight of the fluid and swallowing soul,

My course runs below the soundings of plummets.

I help myself to material and immaterial,

No guard can shut me off, no law can prevent me.

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I anchor my ship for a little while only,

My messengers continually cruise away, or bring          their returns to me.

I go hunting polar furs and the seal, leaping          chasms with a pike-pointed staff, clinging to          topples of brittle and blue.

I ascend to the fore-truck, I take my place late at          night in the crow's-nest, we sail through the          arctic sea, it is plenty light enough,

Through the clear atmosphere I stretch around on          the wonderful beauty,

The enormous masses of ice pass me and I          pass them, the scenery is plain in all direc-          tions,

The white-topped mountains show in the dis-          tance, I fling out my fancies toward them,

We are approaching some great battle-field in          which we are soon to be engaged,

We pass the colossal out-posts of the encamp-          ments, we pass with still feet and caution,

Or we are entering by the suburbs some vast          and ruined city, the blocks and fallen archi-          tecture more than all the living cities of the          globe.

I am a free companion, I bivouac by invading          watchfires.

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I turn the bridegroom out of bed and stay with          the bride myself,

I tighten her all night to my thighs and lips.

My voice is the wife's voice, the screech by the          rail of the stairs,

They fetch my man's body up, dripping and          drowned.

I understand the large hearts of heroes,

The courage of present times and all times,

How the skipper saw the crowded and rudderless          wreck of the steam-ship, and death chasing it          up and down the storm,

How he knuckled tight, and gave not back one          inch, and was faithful of days and faithful of          nights,

And chalked in large letters, Be of good cheer,          We will not desert you,

How he saved the drifting company at last,

How the lank loose-gowned women looked when          boated from the side of their prepared graves,

How the silent old-faced infants, and the lifted          sick, and the sharp-lipped unshaved men,

All this I swallow, it tastes good, I like it well, it          becomes mine,

I am the man, I suffered, I was there.

The disdain and calmness of martyrs,

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The mother, condemned for a witch, burnt with          dry wood, her children gazing on,

The hounded slave that flags in the race, leans by          the fence, blowing, covered with sweat,

The twinges that sting like needles his legs and          neck, the murderous buck-shot and the bullets,

All these I feel or am.

I am the hounded slave, I wince at the bite of the          dogs,

Hell and despair are upon me, crack and again          crack the marksmen,

I clutch the rails of the fence, my gore dribs,          thinned with the ooze of my skin,

I fall on the weeds and stones,

The riders spur their unwilling horses, haul close,

Taunt my dizzy ears, beat me violently over the          head with whip-stocks.

Agonies are one of my changes of garments,

I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I          myself become the wounded person,

My hurt turns livid upon me as I lean on a cane          and observe.

I am the mashed fireman with breastbone broken,          tumbling walls buried me in their debris,

Heat and smoke I inspired, I heard the yelling          shouts of my comrades,

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I heard the distant click of their picks and shov-          els,

They have cleared the beams away, they tenderly          life me forth.

I lie in the night air in my red shirt, the pervading          hush is for my sake.

Painless after all I lie, exhausted but not so un-          happy,

White and beautiful are the faces around me, the          heads are bared of their fire-caps,

The kneeling crowd fades with the light of the          torches.

Distant and dead resuscitate,

They show as the dial or move as the hands of          me—I am the clock myself.

I am an old artillerist, I tell of my fort's bombard-          ment, I am there again.

Again the reveille of drummers, again the attack-          ing cannon, mortars, howitzers,

Again the attacked send cannon responsive;

I take part, I see and hear the whole,

The cries, curses, roar, the plaudits for well-aimed          shots,

The ambulanza slowly passing, trailing its red          drip,

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Workmen searching after damages, making indis-          pensable repairs,

The fall of grenades through the rent roof, the          fan-shaped explosion,

The whizz of limbs, heads, stone, wood, iron,          high in the air.

Again gurgles the mouth of my dying general, he          furiously waves with his hand,

He gasps through the clot, Mind not me—mind —          the entrenchments.

I tell not the fall of Alamo, not one escaped to tell          the fall of Alamo,

The hundred and fifty are dumb yet at Alamo.

Hear now the tale of a jet-black sunrise,

Hear of the murder in cold-blood of four hundred          and twelve young men.

Retreating, they had formed in a hollow square,          with their baggage for breast-works,

Nine hundred lives out of the surrounding enemy's,          nine times their number, was the price they          took in advance,

Their colonel was wounded and their ammunition          gone,

They treated for an honorable capitulation, re-          ceived writing and seal, gave up their arms,          marched back prisoners of war.

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They were the glory of the race of rangers,

Matchless with horse, rifle, song, supper, court-          ship,

Large, turbulent, brave, handsome, generous,          proud, affectionate,

Bearded, sunburnt, dressed in the free costume of          hunters,

Not a single one over thirty years of age.

The second Sunday morning they were brought          out in squads and massacred—it was beauti-          ful early summer,

The work commenced about five o'clock and was          over by eight.

None obeyed the command to kneel,

Some made a mad and helpless rush, some stood          stark and straight,

A few fell at once, shot in the temple or heart, the          living and dead lay together,

The maimed and mangled dug in the dirt, the          new-comers saw them there,

Some, half-killed, attempted to crawl away,

These were dispatched with bayonets, or battered          with the blunts of muskets,

A youth not seventeen years old seized his assas-          sin, till two more came to release him,

The three were all torn, and covered with the          boy's blood.

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At eleven o'clock began the burning of the bodies;

That is the tale of the murder of the four hun-          dred and twelve young men,

And that was a jet-black sunrise.

Did you read in the sea-books of the old-fashioned          frigate-fight?

Did you learn who won by the light of the moon          and stars?

Our foe was no skulk in his ship, I tell you,

His was the English pluck, and there is no tougher          or truer, and never was, and never will be,

Along the lowered eve he came, horribly raking          us.

We closed with him, the yards entangled, the can-          non touched,

My captain lashed fast with his own hands.

We had received some eighteen-pound shots un-          der the water,

On our lower-gun-deck two large pieces had burst          at the first fire, killing all around and blowing          up overhead.

Ten o'clock at night and the full moon shining,          and the leaks on the gain, and five feet of          water reported,

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The master-at-arms loosing the prisoners confined          in the after-hold, to give them a chance for          themselves.

The transit to and from the magazine was now          stopped by the sentinels,

They saw so many strange faces that they did not          know whom to trust.

Our frigate was afire, the other asked if we de-          manded quarter? if our colors were struck          and the fighting done?

I laughed content when I heard the voice of my          little captain,

We have not struck, he composedly cried, We          have just begun our part of the fighting.

Only three guns were in use,

One was directed by the captain himself against          the enemy's main-mast,

Two, well served with grape and canister,          silenced his musketry and cleared his          decks.

The tops alone seconded the fire of this little bat-          tery, especially the main-top,

They all held out bravely during the whole of the          action.

Not a moment's cease,

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The leaks gained fast on the pumps, the fire eat          toward the powder-magazine,

One of the pumps was shot away, it was generally          thought we were sinking.

Serene stood the little captain,

He was not hurried, his voice was neither high          nor low,

His eyes gave more light to us than our battle-          lanterns.

Toward twelve at night, there in the beams of the          moon they surrendered to us.

Stretched and still lay the midnight,

Two great hulls motionless on the breast of the          darkness,

Our vessel riddled and slowly sinking, prepara-          tions to pass to the one we had conquered,

The captain on the quarter-deck coldly giving his          orders through a countenance white as a          sheet,

Near by, the corpse of the child that served in the          cabin,

The dead face of an old salt with long white hair          and carefully curled whiskers,

The flames, spite of all that could be done, flicker-          ing aloft and below,

The husky voices of the two or three officers yet          fit for duty,

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Formless stacks of bodies, bodies by them-          selves, dabs of flesh upon the masts and          spars,

Cut of cordage, dangle of rigging, slight shock of          the soothe of waves,

Black and impassive guns, litter of powder-parcels,          strong scent,

Delicate sniffs of sea-breeze, smells of sedgy grass          and fields by the shore, death-messages          given in change to survivors,

The hiss of the surgeon's knife, the gnawing teeth          of his saw,

Wheeze, cluck, swash of falling blood, short wild          scream, long dull tapering groan,

These so, these irretrievable.

O Christ! My fit is mastering me!

What the rebel said, gaily adjusting his throat to          the rope-noose,

What the savage at the stump, his eye-sockets          empty, his mouth spirting whoops and defi-          ance,

What stills the traveler come to the vault at          Mount Vernon,

What sobers the Brooklyn boy as he looks down          the shores of the Wallabout and remembers          the prison ships,

What burnt the gums of the red-coat at Saratoga          when he surrendered his brigades,

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These become mine and me every one, and they          are but little,

I become as much more as I like.

I become any presence or truth of humanity here,

And see myself in prison shaped like another          man,

And feel the dull unintermitted pain.

For me the keepers of convicts shoulder their          carbines and keep watch,

It is I let out in the morning and barred at night.

Not a mutineer walks hand-cuffed to the jail, but I          am hand-cuffed to him and walk by his side,

I am less the jolly one there, and more the silent          one, with sweat on my twitching lips.

Not a youngster is taken for larceny, but I go up          too, and am tried and sentenced.

Not a cholera patient lies at the last gasp, but I          also lie at the last gasp,

My face is ash-colored, my sinews gnarl, away          from me people retreat.

Askers embody themselves in me, and I am em-          bodied in them,

I project my hat, sit shame-faced, beg.

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I rise extatic through all, sweep with the true          gravitation,

The whirling and whirling is elemental within          me.

Somehow I have been stunned. Stand back!

Give me a little time beyond my cuffed head,          slumbers, dreams, gaping,

I discover myself on the verge of a usual mistake.

That I could forget the mockers and insults!

That I could forget the trickling tears, and the          blows of the bludgeons and hammers!

That I could look with a separate look on my own          crucifixion and bloody crowning!

I remember, I resume the overstaid fraction,

The grave of rock multiplies what has been con-          fided to it, or to any graves,

The corpses rise, the gashes heal, the fastenings          roll away.

I troop forth replenished with supreme power,          one of an average unending procession,

We walk the roads of Ohio, Massachusetts, Vir-          ginia, Wisconsin, Manhattan Island, New          Orleans, Texas, Montreal, San Francisco,          Charleston, Havana, Mexico,

Inland and by the sea-coast and boundary lines,          and we pass all boundary lines.

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Our swift ordinances are on their way over the          whole earth,

The blossoms we wear in our hats are the growth          of two thousand years.

Eleves, I salute you!

I see the approach of your numberless gangs, I          see you understand yourselves and me,

And know that they who have eyes are divine,          and the blind and lame are equally divine,

And that my steps drag behind yours, yet go be-          fore them,

And are aware how I am with you no more than          I am with everybody.

The friendly and flowing savage, Who is he?

Is he waiting for civilization, or past it and mas-          tering it?

Is he some south-westerner, raised out-doors?          Is he Canadian?

Is he from the Mississippi country? from Iowa,          Oregon, California? from the mountains?          prairie-life, bush-life? from the sea?

Wherever he goes men and women accept and          desire him;

They desire he should like them, touch them          speak to them, stay with them.

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Behaviour lawless as snow-flakes, words simple          as grass, uncombed head, laughter, naivete,

Slow-stepping feet, common features, common          modes and emanations,

They descend in new forms from the tips of his          fingers,

They are wafted with the odor of his body or          breath, they fly out of the glance of his eyes.

Flaunt of the sun-shine, I need not your bask, lie          over!

You light surfaces only, I force surfaces and          depths also.

Earth! you seem to look for something at my          hands,

Say old top-knot! what do you want?

Man or woman! I might tell how I like you, but          cannot,

And might tell what it is in me, and what it is in          you, but cannot,

And might tell the pinings I have, the pulse of my          nights and days.

Behold I do not give lectures or a little charity,

What I give I give out of myself.

You there, impotent, loose in the knees, open your          scarfed chops till I blow grit within you,

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Spread your palms, and lift the flaps of your          pockets,

I am not to be denied, I compel, I have stores          plenty and to spare,

And any thing I have I bestow;

I do not ask who you are, that is not important to          me,

You can do nothing, and be nothing, but what I          will infold you.

To a drudge of the cotton-fields or cleaner of          privies I lean—on his right cheek I put the          family kiss,

And in my soul I swear, I never will deny him.

On women fit for conception I start bigger and          nimbler babes,

This day I am jetting the stuff of far more arro-          gant republics.

To any one dying, thither I speed and twist the          knob of the door,

Turn the bed-clothes toward the foot of the bed,

Let the physician and the priest go home.

I seize the descending man, I raise him with re-          sistless will.

O despairer, here is my neck,

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By God! you shall not go down! hang your          whole weight upon me.

I dilate you with tremendous breath, I buoy you          up,

Every room of the house do I fill with an armed          force, lovers of me, bafflers of graves,

Sleep! I and they keep guard all night,

Not doubt, not decease shall dare to lay finger          upon you,

I have embraced you, and henceforth possess you          to myself,

And when you rise in the morning you will find          what I tell you is so.

I am he bringing help for the sick as they pant          on their backs,

And for strong upright men I bring yet more          needed help.

I heard what was said of the universe,

Heard it and heard it of several thousand years;

It is middling well as far as it goes, but is that          all?

Magnifying and applying come I,

Outbidding at the start the old cautious hucksters,

The most they offer for mankind and eternity less          than a spirt of my own seminal wet,

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Taking myself the exact dimensions of Jehovah —          lithographing Kronos, Zeus his son, Hercules          his grandson—buying drafts of Osiris, Isis,          Belus, Brahma, Buddha—in my portfolio          placing Manito loose, Allah on a leaf, the          crucifix engraved—with Odin, and the          hideous-faced Mexitli, and every idol and          image,

Taking them all for what they are worth, and not          a cent more,

Admitting they were alive and did the work of          their day,

Admitting they bore mites, as for unfledged birds,          who have now to rise and fly and sing for          themselves,

Accepting the rough deific sketches to fill out bet-          ter in myself—bestowing them freely on          each man and woman I see,

Discovering as much, or more, in a framer framing          a house,

Putting higher claims for him there with his          rolled-up sleeves, driving the mallet and          chisel,

Not objecting to special revelations, considering a          curl of smoke or a hair on the back of my          hand just as curious as any revelation,

Those ahold of fire-engines and hook-and-ladder          ropes no less to me than the gods of the          antique wars,

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Minding their voices peal through the crash of          destruction,

Their brawny limbs passing safe over charred          laths, their white foreheads whole and unhurt          out of the flames,

By the mechanic's wife with her babe at her          nipple interceding for every person born,

Three scythes at harvest whizzing in a row from          three lusty angels with shirts bagged out at          their waists,

The snag-toothed hostler with red hair redeeming          sins past and to come,

Selling all he possesses, travelling on foot to fee          lawyers for his brother, and sit by him while          he is tried for forgery;

What was strewn in the amplest strewing the          square rod about me, and not filling the square          rod then,

The bull and the bug never worshipped half          enough,

Dung and dirt more admirable than was dreamed,

The supernatural of no account—myself waiting          my time to be one of the supremes,

The day getting ready for me when I shall do          as much good as the best, and be as pro-          digious,

Guessing when I am it will not tickle me much          to receive puffs out of pulpit or print;

By my life-lumps! becoming already a creator!

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Putting myself here and now to the ambushed          womb of the shadows!

A call in the midst of the crowd,

My own voice, orotund, sweeping, final.

Come my children,

Come my boys and girls, my women, household,          intimates,

Now the performer launches his nerve, he has          passed his prelude on the reeds within.

Easily written, loose-fingered chords! I feel the          thrum of their climax and close.

My head slues round on my neck,

Music rolls, but not from the organ—folks are          around me, but they are no household of mine.

Ever the hard unsunk ground,

Ever the eaters and drinkers, ever the upward and          downward sun, ever the air and the ceaseless          tides,

Ever myself and my neighbors, refreshing,          wicked, real,

Ever the old inexplicable query, ever that thorned          thumb, that breath of itches and thirsts,

Ever the vexer's hoot! hoot! till we find where          the sly one hides, and bring him forth;

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Ever love, ever the sobbing liquid of life,

Ever the bandage under the chin, ever the tressels          of death.

Here and there with dimes on the eyes walking,

To feed the greed of the belly the brains liberally          spooning,

Tickets buying, taking, selling, but in to the feast          never once going,

Many sweating, ploughing, thrashing, and then          the chaff for payment receiving,

A few idly owning, and they the wheat continu-          ally claiming.

This is the city, and I am one of the citizens,

Whatever interests the rest interests me—poli-          tics, markets, newspapers, schools, benevolent          societies, improvements, banks, tariffs, steam-          ships, factories, stocks, stores, real estate,          personal estate.

They who piddle and patter here in collars and          tailed coats, I am aware who they are—they          are not worms or fleas,

I acknowledge the duplicates of myself—the weak-          est and shallowest is deathless with me,

What I do and say, the same waits for them;

Every thought that flounders in me, the same          flounders in them.

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I know perfectly well my own egotism,

I know my omnivorous words, and cannot say any          less,

And would fetch you, whoever you are, flush with          myself.

My words are words of a questioning, and to in-          dicate reality;

This printed and bound book—but the printer,          and the printing-office boy?

The marriage estate and settlement—but the          body and mind of the bridegroom? also those          of the bride?

The panorama of the sea—but the sea itself?

The well-taken photographs—but your wife or          friend close and solid in your arms?

The fleet of ships of the line, and all the modern          improvements—but the craft and pluck of          the admiral?

The dishes and fare and furniture—but the host          and hostess, and the look out of their          eyes?

The sky up there—yet here, or next door, or          across the way?

The saints and sages in history—but you your-          self?

Sermons, creeds, theology—but the human brain,          and what is called reason, and what is called          love, and what is called life?

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I do not despise you, priests,

My faith is the greatest of faiths, and the least of          faiths,

Enclosing all worship ancient and modern, and all          between ancient and modern,

Believing I shall come again upon the earth after          five thousand years,

Waiting responses from oracles, honoring the          gods, saluting the sun,

Making a fetish of the first rock or stump, powow-          ing with sticks in the circle of obis,

Helping the lama or brahmin as he trims the          lamps of the idols,

Dancing yet through the streets in a phallic pro-          cession—rapt and austere in the woods, a          gymnosophist,

Drinking mead from the skull-cup, to shastas and          vedas admirant, minding the koran,

Walking the teokallis, spotted with gore from the          stone and knife, beating the serpent-skin drum,

Accepting the gospels, accepting him that was          crucified, knowing assuredly that he is di-          vine,

To the mass kneeling, to the puritan's prayer ris-          ing, sitting patiently in a pew,

Ranting and frothing in my insane crisis, waiting          dead-like till my spirit arouses me,

Looking forth on pavement and land, and outside          of pavement and land,

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Belonging to the winders of the circuit of circuits.

One of that centripetal and centrifugal gang, I          turn and talk like a man leaving charges be-          fore a journey.

Down-hearted doubters, dull and excluded,

Frivolous, sullen, moping, angry, affected, dis-          heartened, atheistical,

I know every one of you, I know the unspoken          interrogatories,

By experience I know them.

How the flukes splash!

How they contort, rapid as lightning, with spasms          and spouts of blood!

Be at peace, bloody flukes of doubters and sullen          mopers,

I take my place among you as much as among          any,

The past is the push of you, me, all, precisely the          same,

Day and night are for you, me, all,

And what is yet untried and afterward is for you,          me, all, precisely the same.

I do not know what is untried and afterward,