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CHANTS DEMOCRATIC AND NATIVE AMERICAN.

Apostroph.

O mater! O fils!

O brood continental!

O flowers of the prairies!

O space boundless! O hum of mighty products!

O you teeming cities! O so invincible, turbulent,          proud!

O race of the future! O women!

O fathers! O you men of passion and the storm!

O native power only! O beauty!

O yourself! O God! O divine average!

O you bearded roughs! O bards! O all those slum-          berers!

O arouse! the dawn-bird's throat sounds shrill! Do          you not hear the cock crowing?

O, as I walk'd the beach, I heard the mournful notes          foreboding a tempest—the low, oft-repeated          shriek of the diver, the long-lived loon;

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O I heard, and yet hear, angry thunder;—O you          sailors! O ships! make quick preparation!

O from his masterful sweep, the warning cry of the          eagle!

(Give way there, all! It is useless! Give up your          spoils;)

O sarcasms! Propositions! (O if the whole world          should prove indeed a sham, a sell!)

O I believe there is nothing real but America and          freedom!

O to sternly reject all except Democracy!

O imperator! O who dare confront you and me?

O to promulgate our own! O to build for that which          builds for mankind!

O feuillage! O North! O the slope drained by the          Mexican sea!

O all, all inseparable—ages, ages, ages!

O a curse on him that would dissever this Union for          any reason whatever!

O climates, labors! O good and evil! O death!

O you strong with iron and wood! O Personality!

O the village or place which has the greatest man or          woman! even if it be only a few ragged huts;

O the city where women walk in public processions in          the streets, the same as the men;

O a wan and terrible emblem, by me adopted!

O shapes arising! shapes of the future centuries!

O muscle and pluck forever for me!

O workmen and workwomen forever for me!

O farmers and sailors! O drivers of horses forever          for me!

O I will make the new bardic list of trades and tools!

O you coarse and wilful! I love you!

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O South! O longings for my dear home! O soft and          sunny airs!

O pensive! O I must return where the palm grows          and the mocking-bird sings, or else I die!

O equality! O organic compacts! I am come to be          your born poet!

O whirl, contest, sounding and resounding! I am          your poet, because I am part of you;

O days by-gone! Enthusiasts! Antecedents!

O vast preparations for These States! O years!

O what is now being sent forward thousands of years          to come!

O mediums! O to teach! to convey the invisible faith!

To promulge real things! to journey through all The          States!

O creation! O to-day! O laws! O unmitigated          adoration!

O for mightier broods of orators, artists, and singers!

O for native songs! carpenter's, boatman's, plough-          man's songs! shoemaker's songs!

O haughtiest growth of time! O free and extatic!

O what I, here, preparing, warble for!

O you hastening light! O the sun of the world will          ascend, dazzling, and take his height—and you          too will ascend;

O so amazing and so broad! up there resplendent,          darting and burning;

O prophetic! O vision staggered with weight of light!          with pouring glories!

O copious! O hitherto unequalled!

O Libertad! O compact! O union impossible to          dissever!

O my Soul! O lips becoming tremulous, powerless!

O centuries, centuries yet ahead!

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O voices of greater orators! I pause—I listen for          you!

O you States! Cities! defiant of all outside authority!          I spring at once into your arms! you I most          love!

O you grand Presidentiads! I wait for you!

New history! New heroes! I project you!

Visions of poets! only you really last! O sweep on!          sweep on!

O Death! O you striding there! O I cannot yet!

O heights! O infinitely too swift and dizzy yet!

O purged lumine! you threaten me more than I can          stand!

O present! I return while yet I may to you!

O poets to come, I depend upon you!

1.

1   A NATION announcing itself, (many in one,)

I myself make the only growth by which I can be          appreciated,

I reject none, accept all, reproduce all in my own          forms.

2   A breed whose testimony is behavior,

What we are WE ARE—nativity is answer enough          to objections;

We wield ourselves as a weapon is wielded,

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We are powerful and tremendous in ourselves,

We are executive in ourselves—We are sufficient          in the variety of ourselves,

We are the most beautiful to ourselves, and in our-          selves,

Nothing is sinful to us outside of ourselves,

Whatever appears, whatever does not appear, we are          beautiful or sinful in ourselves only.

3   Have you thought there could be but a single          Supreme?

There can be any number of Supremes—One does          not countervail another, any more than one eye-          sight countervails another, or one life counter-          vails another.

4   All is eligible to all,

All is for individuals—All is for you,

No condition is prohibited, not God's or any,

If one is lost, you are inevitably lost.

5   All comes by the body—only health puts you rapport          with the universe.

6   Produce great persons, the rest follows.

7   How dare a sick man, or an obedient man, write          poems for These States?

Which is the theory or book that, for our purposes, is          not diseased?

8   Piety and conformity to them that like!

Peace, obesity, allegiance, to them that like!

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I am he who tauntingly compels men, women,          nations, to leap from their seats and contend          for their lives.

9   I am he who goes through the streets with a barbed          tongue, questioning every one I meet—ques-          tioning you up there now:

Who are you, that wanted only to be told what you          knew before?

Who are you, that wanted only a book to join you in          your nonsense?

10   Are you, or would you be, better than all that has          ever been before?

If you would be better than all that has ever been          before, come listen to me, and not otherwise.

11   Fear grace—Fear delicatesse,

Fear the mellow sweet, the sucking of honey-juice,

Beware the advancing mortal ripening of nature,

Beware what precedes the decay of the ruggedness of          states and men.

12   Ages, precedents, poems, have long been accumu-          lating undirected materials,

America brings builders, and brings its own styles.

13   Mighty bards have done their work, and passed to          other spheres,

One work forever remains, the work of surpassing all          they have done.

14   America, curious toward foreign characters, stands by          its own at all hazards,

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Stands removed, spacious, composite, sound,

Sees itself promulger of men and women, initiates          the true use of precedents,

Does not repel them or the past, or what they have          produced under their forms, or amid other pol-          itics, or amid the idea of castes, or the old          religions,

Takes the lesson with calmness, perceives the corpse          slowly borne from the eating and sleeping rooms          of the house,

Perceives that it waits a little while in the door—          that it was fittest for its days,

That its life has descended to the stalwart and well-          shaped heir who approaches,

And that he shall be fittest for his days.

15   Any period, one nation must lead,

One land must be the promise and reliance of the          future.

16   These States are the amplest poem,

Here is not merely a nation, but a teeming nation of          nations,

Here the doings of men correspond with the broad-          cast doings of the day and night,

Here is what moves in magnificent masses, carelessly          faithful of particulars,

Here are the roughs, beards, friendliness, combative-          ness, the Soul loves,

Here the flowing trains—here the crowds, equality,          diversity, the Soul loves.

17   Race of races, and bards to corroborate!

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Of them, standing among them, one lifts to the light          his west-bred face,

To him the hereditary countenance bequeathed, both          mother's and father's,

His first parts substances, earth, water, animals, trees,

Built of the common stock, having room for far and          near,

Used to dispense with other lands, incarnating this          land,

Attracting it body and Soul to himself, hanging on its          neck with incomparable love,

Plunging his semitic muscle into its merits and          demerits,

Making its geography, cities, beginnings, events,          glories, defections, diversities, vocal in him,

Making its rivers, lakes, bays, embouchure in him,

Mississippi with yearly freshets and changing chutes          —Missouri, Columbia, Ohio, Niagara, Hudson,          spending themselves lovingly in him,

If the Atlantic coast stretch, or the Pacific coast          stretch, he stretching with them north or south,

Spanning between them east and west, and touching          whatever is between them,

Growths growing from him to offset the growth of          pine, cedar, hemlock, live-oak, locust, chest-          nut, cypress, hickory, lime-tree, cotton-wood,          tulip-tree, cactus, tamarind, orange, magnolia,          persimmon,

Tangles as tangled in him as any cane-brake or          swamp,

He likening sides and peaks of mountains, forests          coated with transparent ice, and icicles hanging          from the boughs,

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Off him pasturage sweet and natural as savanna,          upland, prairie,

Through him flights, songs, screams, answering those          of the wild-pigeon, coot, fish-hawk, qua-bird,          mocking-bird, condor, night-heron, eagle;

His spirit surrounding his country's spirit, unclosed          to good and evil,

Surrounding the essences of real things, old times          and present times,

Surrounding just found shores, islands, tribes of red          aborigines,

Weather-beaten vessels, landings, settlements, the          rapid stature and muscle,

The haughty defiance of the Year 1—war, peace,          the formation of the Constitution,

The separate States, the simple, elastic scheme, the          immigrants,

The Union, always swarming with blatherers, and          always calm and impregnable,

The unsurveyed interior, log-houses, clearings, wild          animals, hunters, trappers;

Surrounding the multiform agriculture, mines, tem-          perature, the gestation of new States,

Congress convening every Twelfth Month, the mem-          bers duly coming up from the uttermost parts;

Surrounding the noble character of mechanics and          farmers, especially the young men,

Responding their manners, speech, dress, friendships          —the gait they have of persons who never knew          how it felt to stand in the presence of superiors,

The freshness and candor of their physiognomy, the          copiousness and decision of their phrenology,

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The picturesque looseness of their carriage, their          deathless attachment to freedom, their fierceness          when wronged,

The fluency of their speech, their delight in music,          their curiosity, good temper, and open-handed-          ness—the whole composite make,

The prevailing ardor and enterprise, the large am-          ativeness,

The perfect equality of the female with the male, the          fluid movement of the population,

The superior marine, free commerce, fisheries,          whaling, gold-digging,

Wharf-hemmed cities, railroad and steamboat lines,          intersecting all points,

Factories, mercantile life, labor-saving machinery, the          north-east, north-west, south-west,

Manhattan firemen, the Yankee swap, southern plan-          tation life,

Slavery, the tremulous spreading of hands to shelter          it—the stern opposition to it, which ceases only          when it ceases.

18   For these and the like, their own voices! For these,          space ahead!

Others take finish, but the Republic is ever con-          structive, and ever keeps vista;

Others adorn the past—but you, O, days of the          present, I adorn you!

O days of the future, I believe in you!

O America, because you build for mankind, I build          for you!

O well-beloved stone-cutters! I lead them who plan          with decision and science,

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I lead the present with friendly hand toward the          future.

19   Bravas to States whose semitic impulses send whole-          some children to the next age!

But damn that which spends itself on flaunters and          dalliers, with no thought of the stain, pains,          dismay, feebleness, it is bequeathing.

20   By great bards only can series of peoples and States          be fused into the compact organism of one          nation.

21   To hold men together by paper and seal, or by com-          pulsion, is no account,

That only holds men together which is living prin-          ciples, as the hold of the limbs of the body, or          the fibres of plants.

22   Of all races and eras, These States, with veins full          of poetical stuff, most need poets, and are to have          the greatest, and use them the greatest,

Their Presidents shall not be their common referee          so much as their poets shall.

23   Of mankind, the poet is the equable man,

Not in him, but off from him, things are grotesque,          eccentric, fail of their full returns,

Nothing out of its place is good, nothing in its place          is bad,

He bestows on every object or quality its fit propor-          tions, neither more nor less,

He is the arbiter of the diverse, he is the key,

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He is the equalizer of his age and land,

He supplies what wants supplying—he checks what          wants checking,

In peace, out of him speaks the spirit of peace, large,          rich, thrifty, building populous towns, encour-          aging agriculture, arts, commerce, lighting the          study of man, the Soul, health, immortality,          government,

In war, he is the best backer of the war—he fetches          artillery as good as the engineer's—he can make          every word he speaks draw blood;

The years straying toward infidelity, he withholds by          his steady faith,

He is no arguer, he is judgment,

He judges not as the judge judges, but as the sun          falling round a helpless thing;

As he sees the farthest he has the most faith,

His thoughts are the hymns of the praise of things,

In the dispute on God and eternity he is silent,

He sees eternity less like a play with a prologue and          denouement,

He sees eternity in men and women—he does not          see men and women as dreams or dots.

24   Of the idea of perfect and free individuals, the idea          of These States, the bard walks in advance,          leader of leaders,

The attitude of him cheers up slaves, and horrifies          foreign despots.

25   Without extinction is Liberty! Without retrograde          is Equality!

They live in the feelings of young men, and the          best women,

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Not for nothing have the indomitable heads of the          earth been always ready to fall for Liberty!

26   Are YOU indeed for Liberty?

Are you a man who would assume a place to teach          here, or lead here, or be a poet here?

The place is august—the terms obdurate.

27   Who would assume to teach here, may well prepare          himself, body and mind,

He may well survey, ponder, arm, fortify, harden,          make lithe, himself,

He shall surely be questioned beforehand by me with          many and stern questions.

28   Who are you, indeed, who would talk or sing in          America?

Have you studied out MY LAND, its idioms and          men?

Have you learned the physiology, phrenology, poli-          tics, geography, pride, freedom, friendship, of          my land? its substratums and objects?

Have you considered the organic compact of the first          day of the first year of the independence of The          States, signed by the Commissioners, ratified by          The States, and read by Washington at the head          of the army?

Have you possessed yourself of the Federal Constitu-          tion?

Do you acknowledge Liberty with audible and abso-          lute acknowledgment, and set slavery at nought          for life and death?

Do you see who have left described processes and          poems behind them, and assumed new ones?

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Are you faithful to things? Do you teach whatever          the land and sea, the bodies of men, womanhood,          amativeness, angers, excesses, crimes, teach?

Have you sped through customs, laws, popularities?

Can you hold your hand against all seductions, follies,          whirls, fierce contentions? Are you very strong?          Are you of the whole people?

Are you not of some coterie? some school or religion?

Are you done with reviews and criticisms of life? ani-          mating to life itself?

Have you vivified yourself from the maternity of          These States?

Have you sucked the nipples of the breasts of the          mother of many children?

Have you too the old, ever-fresh, forbearance and          impartiality?

Do you hold the like love for those hardening to          maturity? for the last-born? little and big?          and for the errant?

29   What is this you bring my America?

Is it uniform with my country?

Is it not something that has been better told or done          before?

Have you not imported this, or the spirit of it, in          some ship?

Is it a mere tale? a rhyme? a prettiness?

Has it never dangled at the heels of the poets, poli-          ticians, literats, of enemies' lands?

Does it not assume that what is notoriously gone is          still here?

Does it answer universal needs? Will it improve          manners?

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Can your performance face the open fields and the          sea-side?

Will it absorb into me as I absorb food, air, nobility,          meanness—to appear again in my strength, gait,          face?

Have real employments contributed to it? original          makers—not amanuenses?

Does it meet modern discoveries, calibers, facts, face          to face?

Does it respect me? Democracy? the Soul? to-day?

What does it mean to me? to American persons,          progresses, cities? Chicago, Kanada, Arkansas?          the planter, Yankee, Georgian, native, immi-          grant, sailors, squatters, old States, new States?

Does it encompass all The States, and the unexcep-          tional rights of all the men and women of the          earth, the genital impulse of These States?

Does it see behind the apparent custodians, the          real custodians, standing, menacing, silent, the          mechanics, Manhattanese, western men, south-          erners, significant alike in their apathy and in          the promptness of their love?

Does it see what befalls and has always befallen          each temporizer, patcher, outsider, partialist,          alarmist, infidel, who has ever asked anything          of America?

What mocking and scornful negligence?

The track strewed with the dust of skeletons?

By the roadside others disdainfully tossed?

30   Rhymes and rhymers pass away—poems distilled          from other poems pass away,

The swarms of reflectors and the polite pass, and          leave ashes;

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Admirers, importers, obedient persons, make the soil          of literature;

America justifies itself, give it time—no disguise can          deceive it, or conceal from it—it is impassive          enough,

Only toward the likes of itself will it advance to meet          them,

If its poets appear, it will advance to meet them—          there is no fear of mistake,

The proof of a poet shall be sternly deferred, till his          country absorbs him as affectionately as he has          absorbed it.

31   He masters whose spirit masters—he tastes sweetest          who results sweetest in the long run,

The blood of the brawn beloved of time is uncon-          straint,

In the need of poems, philosophy, politics, manners,          engineering, an appropriate native grand-opera,          shipcraft, any craft, he or she is greatest who          contributes the greatest original practical ex-          ample.

32   Already a nonchalant breed, silently emerging, fills          the houses and streets,

People's lips salute only doers, lovers, satisfiers,          positive knowers;

There will shortly be no more priests—I say their          work is done,

Death is without emergencies here, but life is per-          petual emergencies here,

Are your body, days, manners, superb? after death          you shall be superb;

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Friendship, self-esteem, justice, health, clear the way          with irresistible power;

How dare you place anything before a man?

33   Fall behind me, States!

A man, before all—myself, typical, before all.

34   Give me the pay I have served for!

Give me to speak beautiful words! take all the          rest;

I have loved the earth, sun, animals—I have despised          riches,

I have given alms to every one that asked, stood up          for the stupid and crazy, devoted my income          and labor to others,

I have hated tyrants, argued not concerning God,          had patience and indulgence toward the people,          taken off my hat to nothing known or unknown,

I have gone freely with powerful uneducated persons,          and with the young, and with the mothers of          families,

I have read these leaves to myself in the open air—          I have tried them by trees, stars, rivers,

I have dismissed whatever insulted my own Soul or          defiled my body,

I have claimed nothing to myself which I have not          carefully claimed for others on the same terms.

I have studied my land, its idioms and men,

I am willing to wait to be understood by the growth          of the taste of myself,

I reject none, I permit all,

Whom I have staid with once I have found longing          for me ever afterward.

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34   I swear I begin to see the meaning of these things!

It is not the earth, it is not America, who is so great,

It is I who am great, or to be great—it is you, or          any one,

It is to walk rapidly through civilizations, govern-          ments, theories, nature, poems, shows, to indi-          viduals.

35   Underneath all are individuals,

I swear nothing is good to me now that ignores          individuals!

The American compact is altogether with individuals,

The only government is that which makes minute of          individuals,

The whole theory of the universe is directed to one          single individual—namely, to You.

36   Underneath all is nativity,

I swear I will stand by my own nativity—pious or          impious, so be it;

I swear I am charmed with nothing except nativity,

Men, women, cities, nations, are only beautiful from          nativity.

37   Underneath all is the need of the expression of love          for men and women,

I swear I have had enough of mean and impotent          modes of expressing love for men and women,

After this day I take my own modes of expressing          love for men and women.

38   I swear I will have each quality of my race in          myself,

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Talk as you like, he only suits These States whose          manners favor the audacity and sublime turbu-          lence of The States.

39   Underneath the lessons of things, spirits, nature,          governments, ownerships, I swear I perceive          other lessons,

Underneath all to me is myself—to you, yourself,          (the same monotonous old song,)

If all had not kernels for you and me, what were it          to you and me?

40   O I see now, flashing, that this America is only you          and me,

Its power, weapons, testimony, are you and me,

Its roughs, beards, haughtiness, ruggedness, are you          and me,

Its ample geography, the sierras, the prairies, Mis-          sissippi, Huron, Colorado, Boston, Toronto,          Raleigh, Nashville, Havana, are you and me,

Its settlements, wars, the organic compact, peace,          Washington, the Federal Constitution, are you          and me,

Its young men's manners, speech, dress, friendships,          are you and me,

Its crimes, lies, thefts, defections, slavery, are you          and me,

Its Congress is you and me—the officers, capitols,          armies, ships, are you and me,

Its endless gestations of new States are you and me,

Its inventions, science, schools, are you and me,

Its deserts, forests, clearings, log-houses, hunters, are          you and me,

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Natural and artificial are you and me,

Freedom, language, poems, employments, are you          and me,

Failures, successes, births, deaths, are you and me,

Past, present, future, are only you and me.

41   I swear I dare not shirk any part of myself,

Not any part of America, good or bad,

Not my body—not friendship, hospitality, pro-          creation,

Not my Soul, nor the last explanation of prudence,

Not the similitude that interlocks me with all iden-          tities that exist, or ever have existed,

Not faith, sin, defiance, nor any disposition or duty          of myself,

Not the promulgation of Liberty—not to cheer up          slaves and horrify despots,

Not to build for that which builds for mankind,

Not to balance ranks, complexions, creeds, and the          sexes,

Not to justify science, nor the march of equality,

Nor to feed the arrogant blood of the brawn beloved          of time.

42   I swear I am for those that have never been          mastered!

For men and women whose tempers have never been          mastered,

For those whom laws, theories, conventions, can never          master.

43   I swear I am for those who walk abreast with the          whole earth!

Who inaugurate one to inaugurate all.

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44   I swear I will not be outfaced by irrational things!

I will penetrate what it is in them that is sarcastic          upon me!

I will make cities and civilizations defer to me!

(This is what I have learnt from America—it is the          amount—and it I teach again.)

45   I will confront these shows of the day and night!

I will know if I am to be less than they!

I will see if I am not as majestic as they!

I will see if I am not as subtle and real as they!

I will see if I am to be less generous than they!

46   I will see if I have no meaning, while the houses and          ships have meaning!

I will see if the fishes and birds are to be enough          for themselves, and I am not to be enough for          myself.

47   I match my spirit against yours, you orbs, growths,          mountains, brutes,

Copious as you are, I absorb you all in myself, and          become the master myself.

48   The Many In One—what is it finally except myself?

These States—what are they except myself?

49   I have learned why the earth is gross, tantalizing,          wicked—it is for my sake,

I take you to be mine, you beautiful, terrible, rude          forms.

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CHANTS DEMOCRATIC.

2.

1   BROAD-AXE, shapely, naked, wan!

Head from the mother's bowels drawn!

Wooded flesh and metal bone! limb only one and          lip only one!

Gray-blue leaf by red-heat grown! helve produced          from a little seed sown!

Resting the grass amid and upon,

To be leaned, and to lean on.

2   Strong shapes, and attributes of strong shapes—          masculine trades, sights and sounds,

Long varied train of an emblem, dabs of music,

Fingers of the organist skipping staccato over the          keys of the great organ.

3   Welcome are all earth's lands, each for its kind,

Welcome are lands of pine and oak,

Welcome are lands of the lemon and fig,

Welcome are lands of gold,

Welcome are lands of wheat and maize—welcome          those of the grape,

Welcome are lands of sugar and rice,

Welcome the cotton-lands—welcome those of the          white potato and sweet potato,

Welcome are mountains, flats, sands, forests, prairies,

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Welcome the rich borders of rivers, table-lands,          openings,

Welcome the measureless grazing lands—welcome          the teeming soil of orchards, flax, honey, hemp,

Welcome just as much the other more hard-faced          lands,

Lands rich as lands of gold, or wheat and fruit lands,

Lands of mines, lands of the manly and rugged ores,

Lands of coal, copper, lead, tin, zinc,

LANDS OF IRON! lands of the make of the axe!

4   The log at the wood-pile, the axe supported by it,

The sylvan hut, the vine over the doorway, the space          cleared for a garden,

The irregular tapping of rain down on the leaves,          after the storm is lulled,

The wailing and moaning at intervals, the thought of          the sea,

The thought of ships struck in the storm, and put on          their beam-ends, and the cutting away of masts;

The sentiment of the huge timbers of old-fashioned          houses and barns;

The remembered print or narrative, the voyage at a          venture of men, families, goods,

The disembarkation, the founding of a new city,

The voyage of those who sought a New England and          found it—the outset anywhere,

The settlements of the Arkansas, Colorado, Ottawa,          Willamette,

The slow progress, the scant fare, the axe, rifle,          saddle-bags;

The beauty of all adventurous and daring persons,

The beauty of wood-boys and wood-men, with their          clear untrimmed faces,

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The beauty of independence, departure, actions that          rely on themselves,

The American contempt for statutes and ceremonies,          the boundless impatience of restraint,

The loose drift of character, the inkling through          random types, the solidification;

The butcher in the slaughter-house, the hands aboard          schooners and sloops, the raftsman, the pioneer,

Lumbermen in their winter camp, daybreak in the          woods, stripes of snow on the limbs of trees, the          occasional snapping,

The glad clear sound of one's own voice, the merry          song, the natural life of the woods, the strong          day's work,

The blazing fire at night, the sweet taste of supper,          the talk, the bed of hemlock boughs, and the          bear-skin;

The house-builder at work in cities or anywhere,

The preparatory jointing, squaring, sawing, mor-          tising,

The hoist-up of beams, the push of them in their          places, laying them regular,

Setting the studs by their tenons in the mortises,          according as they were prepared,

The blows of mallets and hammers, the attitudes of          the men, their curved limbs,

Bending, standing, astride the beams, driving in pins,          holding on by posts and braces,

The hooked arm over the plate, the other arm          wielding the axe,

The floor-men forcing the planks close, to be nailed,

Their postures bringing their weapons downward on          the bearers,

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The echoes resounding through the vacant building;

The huge store-house carried up in the city, well          under way,

The six framing-men, two in the middle and two at          each end, carefully bearing on their shoulders a          heavy stick for a cross-beam,

The crowded line of masons with trowels in their          right hands, rapidly laying the long side-wall,          two hundred feet from front to rear,

The flexible rise and fall of backs, the continual click          of the trowels striking the bricks,

The bricks, one after another, each laid so workman-          like in its place, and set with a knock of the          trowel-handle,

The piles of materials, the mortar on the mortar-          boards, and the steady replenishing by the hod-          men;

Spar-makers in the spar-yard, the swarming row of          well-grown apprentices,

The swing of their axes on the square-hewed log,          shaping it toward the shape of a mast,

The brisk short crackle of the steel driven slantingly          into the pine,

The butter-colored chips flying off in great flakes and          slivers,

The limber motion of brawny young arms and hips          in easy costumes;

The constructor of wharves, bridges, piers, bulk-heads,          floats, stays against the sea;

The city fireman—the fire that suddenly bursts forth          in the close-packed square,

The arriving engines, the hoarse shouts, the nimble          stepping and daring,

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The strong command through the fire-trumpets, the          falling in line, the rise and fall of the arms          forcing the water,

The slender, spasmic blue-white jets—the bringing          to bear of the hooks and ladders, and their          execution,

The crash and cut away of connecting wood-work, or          through floors, if the fire smoulders under them,

The crowd with their lit faces, watching—the glare          and dense shadows;

The forger at his forge-furnace, and the user of iron          after him,

The maker of the axe large and small, and the          welder and temperer,

The chooser breathing his breath on the cold steel,          and trying the edge with his thumb,

The one who clean-shapes the handle and sets it          firmly in the socket,

The shadowy processions of the portraits of the past          users also,

The primal patient mechanics, the architects and          engineers,

The far-off Assyrian edifice and Mizra edifice,

The Roman lictors preceding the consuls,

The antique European warrior with his axe in          combat,

The uplifted arm, the clatter, of blows on the          helmeted head,

The death-howl, the limpsey tumbling body, the rush          of friend and foe thither,

The siege of revolted lieges determined for liberty,

The summons to surrender, the battering at castle          gates, the truce and parley,

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The sack of an old city in its time,

The bursting in of mercenaries and bigots tumul-          tuously and disorderly,

Roar, flames, blood, drunkenness, madness,

Goods freely rifled from houses and temples, screams          of women in the gripe of brigands,

Craft and thievery of camp-followers, men running,          old persons despairing,

The hell of war, the cruelties of creeds,

The list of all executive deeds and words, just or          unjust,

The power of personality, just or unjust.

5   Muscle and pluck forever!

What invigorates life, invigorates death,

And the dead advance as much as the living advance,

And the future is no more uncertain than the present,

And the roughness of the earth and of man encloses          as much as the delicatesse of the earth and of          man,

And nothing endures but personal qualities.

6   What do you think endures?

Do you think the greatest city endures?

Or a teeming manufacturing state? or a prepared          constitution? or the best built steamships?

Or hotels of granite and iron? or any chef-d'œuvres          of engineering, forts, armaments?

7   Away! These are not to be cherished for themselves,

They fill their hour, the dancers dance, the musicians          play for them,

The show passes, all does well enough of course,

All does very well till one flash of defiance.

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8   The greatest city is that which has the greatest man          or woman,

If it be a few ragged huts, it is still the greatest city          in the whole world.

9   The place where the greatest city stands is not the          place of stretched wharves, docks, manufactures,          deposits of produce,

Nor the place of ceaseless salutes of new comers, or          the anchor-lifters of the departing,

Nor the place of the tallest and costliest buildings,          or shops selling goods from the rest of the earth,

Nor the place of the best libraries and schools—nor          the place where money is plentiest,

Nor the place of the most numerous population.

10   Where the city stands with the brawniest breed of          orators and bards,

Where the city stands that is beloved by these, and          loves them in return, and understands them,

Where these may be seen going every day in the          streets, with their arms familiar to the shoulders          of their friends,

Where no monuments exist to heroes, but in the          common words and deeds,

Where thrift is in its place, and prudence is in its          place,

Where behavior is the finest of the fine arts,

Where the men and women think lightly of the          laws,

Where the slave ceases, and the master of slaves          ceases,

Where the populace rise at once against the never-          ending audacity of elected persons,

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Where fierce men and women pour forth, as the sea          to the whistle of death pours its sweeping and          unript waves,

Where outside authority enters always after the          precedence of inside authority,

Where the citizen is always the head and ideal—and          President, Mayor, Governor, and what not, are          agents for pay,

Where children are taught from the jump that they          are to be laws to themselves, and to depend on          themselves,

Where equanimity is illustrated in affairs,

Where speculations on the Soul are encouraged,

Where women walk in public processions in the          streets, the same as the men,

Where they enter the public assembly and take          places the same as the men, and are appealed          to by the orators, the same as the men,

Where the city of the faithfulest friends stands,

Where the city of the cleanliness of the sexes stands,

Where the city of the healthiest fathers stands,

Where the city of the best-bodied mothers stands,

There the greatest city stands.

11   How beggarly appear poems, arguments, orations,          before an electric deed!

How the floridness of the materials of cities shrivels          before a man's or woman's look!

12   All waits, or goes by default, till a strong being          appears;

A strong being is the proof of the race, and of the          ability of the universe,

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When he or she appears, materials are overawed,

The dispute on the Soul stops,

The old customs and phrases are confronted, turned          back, or laid away.

13   What is your money-making now? What can it do          now?

What is your respectability now?

What are your theology, tuition, society, traditions,          statute-books now?

Where are your jibes of being now?

Where are your cavils about the Soul now?

14   Was that your best? Were those your vast and          solid?

Riches, opinions, politics, institutions, to part obe-          diently from the path of one man or woman!

The centuries, and all authority, to be trod under          the foot-soles of one man or woman!

15   —A sterile landscape covers the ore—there is as          good as the best, for all the forbidding appear-          ance,

There is the mine, there are the miners,

The forge-furnace is there, the melt is accomplished,          the hammers-men are at hand with their tongs          and hammers,

What always served and always serves, is at hand.

16   Than this nothing has better served—it has served          all,

Served the fluent-tongued and subtle-sensed Greek,          and long ere the Greek,

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Served in building the buildings that last longer          than any,

Served the Hebrew, the Persian, the most ancient          Hindostanee,

Served the mound-raiser on the Mississippi—served          those whose relics remain in Central America,

Served Albic temples in woods or on plains, with          unhewn pillars, and the druids, and the bloody          body laid in the hollow of the great stone,

Served the artificial clefts, vast, high, silent, on the          snow-covered hills of Scandinavia,

Served those who, time out of mind, made on the          granite walls rough sketches of the sun, moon,          stars, ships, ocean-waves,

Served the paths of the irruptions of the Goths—          served the pastoral tribes and nomads,

Served the incalculably distant Kelt—served the          hardy pirates of the Baltic,

Served before any of those, the venerable and harm-          less men of Ethiopia,

Served the making of helms for the galleys of          pleasure, and the making of those for war,

Served all great works on land, and all great works          on the sea,

For the medival ages, and before the mediæval          ages,

Served not the living only, then as now, but served          the dead.

17   I see the European headsman,

He stands masked, clothed in red, with huge legs,          and strong naked arms,

And leans on a ponderous axe.

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18   Whom have you slaughtered lately, European heads-          man?

Whose is that blood upon you, so wet and sticky?

19   I see the clear sunsets of the martyrs,

I see from the scaffolds the descending ghosts,

Ghosts of dead lords, uncrowned ladies, impeached          ministers, rejected kings,

Rivals, traitors, poisoners, disgraced chieftains, and          the rest.

20   I see those who in any land have died for the good          cause,

The seed is spare, nevertheless the crop shall never          run out,

(Mind you, O foreign kings, O priests, the crop shall          never run out.)

21   I see the blood washed entirely away from the axe,

Both blade and helve are clean,

They spirt no more the blood of European nobles—          they clasp no more the necks of queens.

22   I see the headsman withdraw and become useless,

I see the scaffold untrodden and mouldy—I see no          longer any axe upon it,

I see the mighty and friendly emblem of the power of          my own race, the newest largest race.

23   America! I do not vaunt my love for you,

I have what I have.

24   The axe leaps!

The solid forest gives fluid utterances,

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They tumble forth, they rise and form,

Hut, tent, landing, survey,

Flail, plough, pick, crowbar, spade,

Shingle, rail, prop, wainscot, jamb, lath, panel, gable,

Citadel, ceiling, saloon, academy, organ, exhibition-          house, library,

Cornice, trellis, pilaster, balcony, window, shutter,          turret, porch,

Hoe, rake, pitch-fork, pencil, wagon, staff, saw, jack-          plane, mallet, wedge, rounce,

Chair, tub, hoop, table, wicket, vane, sash, floor,

Work-box, chest, stringed instrument, boat, frame,          and what not,

Capitols of States, and capitol of the nation of States,

Long stately rows in avenues, hospitals for orphans or          for the poor or sick,

Manhattan steamboats and clippers, taking the meas-          ure of all seas.

25   The shapes arise!

Shapes of the using of axes anyhow, and the users,          and all that neighbors them,

Cutters down of wood, and haulers of it to the Pe-          nobscot, or Kennebec,

Dwellers in cabins among the Californian mountains,          or by the little lakes, or on the Columbia,

Dwellers south on the banks of the Gila or Rio          Grande—friendly gatherings, the characters and          fun,

Dwellers up north in Minnesota and by the Yellow-          stone river—dwellers on coasts and off coasts,

Seal-fishers, whalers, arctic seamen breaking passages          through the ice.

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26   The shapes arise!

Shapes of factories, arsenals, foundries, markets,

Shapes of the two-threaded tracks of railroads,

Shapes of the sleepers of bridges, vast frameworks,          girders, arches,

Shapes of the fleets of barges, tows, lake craft, river          craft.

27   The shapes arise!

Ship-yards and dry-docks along the Eastern and          Western Seas, and in many a bay and by-place,

The live-oak kelsons, the pine planks, the spars, the          hackmatack-roots for knees,

The ships themselves on their ways, the tiers of          scaffolds, the workmen busy outside and inside,

The tools lying around, the great auger and little          auger, the adze, bolt, line, square, gouge, and          bead-plane.

28   The shapes arise!

The shape measured, sawed, jacked, joined, stained,

The coffin-shape for the dead to lie within in his          shroud;

The shape got out in posts, in the bedstead posts, in          the posts of the bride's bed,

The shape of the little trough, the shape of the          rockers beneath, the shape of the babe's cradle,

The shape of the floor-planks, the floor-planks for          dancers' feet,

The shape of the planks of the family home, the          home of the friendly parents and children,

The shape of the roof of the home of the happy          young man and woman, the roof over the well-          married young man and woman,

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The roof over the supper joyously cooked by the          chaste wife, and joyously eaten by the chaste          husband, content after his day's work.

29   The shapes arise!

The shape of the prisoner's place in the court-room,          and of him or her seated in the place,

The shape of the pill-box, the disgraceful ointment-          box, the nauseous application, and him or her          applying it,

The shape of the liquor-bar leaned against by the          young rum-drinker and the old rum-drinker,

The shape of the shamed and angry stairs, trod by          sneaking footsteps,

The shape of the sly settee, and the adulterous          unwholesome couple,

The shape of the gambling-board with its devilish          winnings and losings,

The shape of the slats of the bed of a corrupted body,          the bed of the corruption of gluttony or alcoholic          drinks,

The shape of the step-ladder for the convicted and          sentenced murderer, the murderer with haggard          face and pinioned arms,

The sheriff at hand with his deputies, the silent and          white-lipped crowd, the sickening dangling of          the rope.

30   The shapes arise!

Shapes of doors giving so many exits and en-          trances,

The door passing the dissevered friend, flushed, and          in haste,

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The door that admits good news and bad news,

The door whence the son left home, confident and          puffed up,

The door he entered again from a long and scan-          dalous absence, diseased, broken down, without          innocence, without means.

31   Their shapes arise, above all the rest—the shapes of          full-sized men,

Men taciturn yet loving, used to the open air, and the          manners of the open air,

Saying their ardor in native forms, saying the old          response,

Take what I have then, (saying fain,) take the pay          you approached for,

Take the white tears of my blood, if that is what you          are after.

32   Her shape arises,

She, less guarded than ever, yet more guarded than          ever,

The gross and soiled she moves among do not make          her gross and soiled,

She knows the thoughts as she passes—nothing is          concealed from her,

She is none the less considerate or friendly therefore,

She is the best-beloved—it is without exception—          she has no reason to fear, and she does not fear,

Oaths, quarrels, hiccupped songs, proposals, smutty          expressions, are idle to her as she passes,

She is silent—she is possessed of herself—they do          not offend her,

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She receives them as the laws of nature receive them          —she is strong,

She too is a law of nature—there is no law stronger          than she is.

33   His shape arises,

Arrogant, masculine, näive, rowdyish,

Laugher, weeper, worker, idler, citizen, countryman,

Saunterer of woods, stander upon hills, summer          swimmer in rivers or by the sea,

Of pure American breed, of reckless health, his body          perfect, free from taint from top to toe, free          forever from headache and dyspepsia, clean-          breathed,

Ample-limbed, a good feeder, weight a hundred and          eighty pounds, full-blooded, six feet high, forty          inches round the breast and back,

Countenance sun-burnt, bearded, calm, unrefined,

Reminder of animals, meeter of savage and gentleman          on equal terms,

Attitudes lithe and erect, costume free, neck gray          and open, of slow movement on foot,

Passer of his right arm round the shoulders of his          friends, companion of the street,

Persuader always of people to give him their sweetest          touches, and never their meanest,

A Manhattanese bred, fond of Brooklyn, fond of          Broadway, fond of the life of the wharves and          the great ferries,

Enterer everywhere, welcomed everywhere, easily          understood after all,

Never offering others, always offering himself, corrob-          orating his phrenology,

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Voluptuous, inhabitive, combative, conscientious,          alimentive, intuitive, of copious friendship,          sublimity, firmness, self-esteem, comparison,          individuality, form, locality, eventuality,

Avowing by life, manners, works, to contribute illus-          trations of results of The States,

Teacher of the unquenchable creed, namely, egotism,

Inviter of others continually henceforth to try their          strength against his.

34   The main shapes arise!

Shapes of Democracy, final—result of centuries,

Shapes of those that do not joke with life, but are          in earnest with life,

Shapes, ever projecting other shapes,

Shapes of a hundred Free States, begetting another          hundred north and south,

Shapes of turbulent manly cities,

Shapes of an untamed breed of young men, and          natural persons,

Shapes of the women fit for These States,

Shapes of the composition of all the varieties of the          earth,

Shapes of the friends and home-givers of the whole          earth,

Shapes bracing the whole earth, and braced with the          whole earth.

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CHANTS DEMOCRATIC.

3.

1   COME closer to me,

Push closer, my lovers, and take the best I possess,

Yield closer and closer, and give me the best you

possess.

2   This is unfinished business with me—How is it with          you?

I was chilled with the cold types, cylinder, wet paper          between us.

3   Male and Female!

I pass so poorly with paper and types, I must pass          with the contact of bodies and souls.

4   American masses!

I do not thank you for liking me as I am, and liking          the touch of me—I know that it is good for you          to do so.

5   Workmen and Workwomen!

Were all educations, practical and ornamental, well          displayed out of me, what would it amount to?

Were I as the head teacher, charitable proprietor,          wise statesman, what would it amount to?

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Were I to you as the boss employing and paying          you, would that satisfy you?

6   The learned, virtuous, benevolent, and the usual          terms,

A man like me, and never the usual terms.

7   Neither a servant nor a master am I,

I take no sooner a large price than a small price—          I will have my own, whoever enjoys me,

I will be even with you, and you shall be even          with me.

8   If you stand at work in a shop, I stand as nigh as          the nighest in the same shop,

If you bestow gifts on your brother or dearest friend,          I demand as good as your brother or dearest          friend,

If your lover, husband, wife, is welcome by day or          night, I must be personally as welcome,

If you become degraded, criminal, ill, then I become          so for your sake,

If you remember your foolish and outlawed deeds, do          you think I cannot remember my own foolish          and outlawed deeds? plenty of them;

If you carouse at the table, I carouse at the opposite          side of the table,

If you meet some stranger in the streets, and love          him or her, do I not often meet strangers in the          street, and love them?

If you see a good deal remarkable in me, I see just          as much, perhaps more, in you.

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9   Why, what have you thought of yourself?

Is it you then that thought yourself less?

Is it you that thought the President greater than          you?

Or the rich better off than you? or the educated          wiser than you?

10   Because you are greasy or pimpled, or that you was          once drunk, or a thief, or diseased, or rheumatic,          or a prostitute, or are so now, or from frivolity or          impotence, or that you are no scholar, and never          saw your name in print, do you give in that you          are any less immortal?

11   Souls of men and women! it is not you I call unseen,          unheard, untouchable and untouching,

It is not you I go argue pro and con about, and to          settle whether you are alive or no,

I own publicly who you are, if nobody else owns—          I see and hear you, and what you give and take,

What is there you cannot give and take?

12   I see not merely that you are polite or white-faced,          married, single, citizens of old States, citizens of          new States,

Eminent in some profession, a lady or gentleman in a          parlor, or dressed in the jail uniform, or pulpit          uniform;

Grown, half-grown, and babe, of this country and          every country, indoors and outdoors, one just as          much as the other, I see,

And all else is behind or through them.

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13   The wife—and she is not one jot less than the          husband,

The daughter—and she is just as good as the son,

The mother—and she is every bit as much as the          father.

14   Offspring of those not rich, boys apprenticed to          trades,

Young fellows working on farms, and old fellows          working on farms,

The näive, the simple and hardy, he going to the          polls to vote, he who has a good time, and he          has who a bad time,

Mechanics, southerners, new arrivals, laborers, sailors,          man-o'wars-men, merchantmen, coasters,

All these I see—but nigher and farther the same I          see,

None shall escape me, and none shall wish to escape          me.

15   I bring what you much need, yet always have,

Not money, amours, dress, eating, but as good;

I send no agent or medium, offer no representative          of value, but offer the value itself.

16   There is something that comes home to one now and          perpetually,

It is not what is printed, preached, discussed—it          eludes discussion and print,

It is not to be put in a book—it is not in this          book,

It is for you, whoever you are—it is no farther from          you than your hearing and sight are from you,

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It is hinted by nearest, commonest, readiest—it is          not them, though it is endlessly provoked by          them, (what is there ready and near you now?)

17   You may read in many languages, yet read nothing          about it,

You may read the President's Message, and read          nothing about it there,

Nothing in the reports from the State department or          Treasury department, or in the daily papers or          the weekly papers,

Or in the census returns, assessors' returns, prices          current, or any accounts of stock.

18   The sun and stars that float in the open air—the          apple-shaped earth, and we upon it—surely the          drift of them is something grand!

I do not know what it is, except that it is grand,          and that it is happiness,

And that the enclosing purport of us here is not a          speculation, or bon-mot, or reconnoissance,

And that it is not something which by luck may          turn out well for us, and without luck must be          a failure for us,

And not something which may yet be retracted in          a certain contingency.

19   The light and shade, the curious sense of body          and identity, the greed that with perfect com-          plaisance devours all things, the endless pride          and out-stretching of man, unspeakable joys and          sorrows,

The wonder every one sees in every one else he sees,          and the wonders that fill each minute of time for-          ever, and each acre of surface and space forever,

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Have you reckoned them for a trade, or farm-work?          or for the profits of a store? or to achieve your-          self a position? or to fill a gentleman's leisure,          or a lady's leisure?

20   Have you reckoned the landscape took substance and          form that it might be painted in a picture?

Or men and women that they might be written of,          and songs sung?

Or the attraction of gravity, and the great laws and          harmonious combinations, and the fluids of the          air, as subjects for the savans?

Or the brown land and the blue sea for maps and          charts?

Or the stars to be put in constellations and named          fancy names?

Or that the growth of seeds is for agricultural tables,          or agriculture itself?

21   Old institutions—these arts, libraries, legends, col-          lections, and the practice handed along in manu-          factures—will we rate them so high?

Will we rate our cash and business high? I have          no objection,

I rate them high as the highest—then a child born          of a woman and man I rate beyond all rate.

22   We thought our Union grand, and our Constitution          grand,

I do not say they are not grand and good, for they          are,

I am this day just as much in love with them as          you,

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Then I am in love with you, and with all my fellows          upon the earth.

23   We consider bibles and religions divine—I do not          say they are not divine,

I say they have all grown out of you, and may grow          out of you still,

It is not they who give the life—it is you who give          the life,

Leaves are not more shed from the trees, or trees          from the earth, than they are shed out of you.

24   The sum of all known reverence I add up in you,          whoever you are,

The President is there in the White House for you—          it is not you who are here for him,

The Secretaries act in their bureaus for you—not          you here for them,

The Congress convenes every Twelfth Month for          you,

Laws, courts, the forming of States, the charters of          cities, the going and coming of commerce and          mails, are all for you.

25   All doctrines, all politics and civilization, exurge from          you,

All sculpture and monuments, and anything inscribed          anywhere, are tallied in you,

The gist of histories and statistics as far back as the          records reach, is in you this hour, and myths          and tales the same,

If you were not breathing and walking here, where          would they all be?

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The most renowned poems would be ashes, orations          and plays would be vacuums.

26   All architecture is what you do to it when you look          upon it,

Did you think it was in the white or gray stone?          or the lines of the arches and cornices?

27   All music is what awakes from you, when you are          reminded by the instruments,

It is not the violins and the cornets—it is not the          oboe nor the beating drums, nor the score of the          baritone singer singing his sweet romanza—nor          that of the men's chorus, nor that of the women's          chorus,

It is nearer and farther than they.

28   Will the whole come back then?

Can each see signs of the best by a look in the          looking-glass? is there nothing greater or more?

Does all sit there with you, and here with me?

29   The old, forever-new things—you foolish child! the          closest, simplest things, this moment with you,

Your person, and every particle that relates to your          person,

The pulses of your brain, waiting their chance and          encouragement at every deed or sight,

Anything you do in public by day, and anything          you do in secret between-days,

What is called right and what is called wrong—          what you behold or touch, or what causes your          anger or wonder,

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The ankle-chain of the slave, the bed of the bed-          house, the cards of the gambler, the plates of          the forger,

What is seen or learnt in the street, or intuitively          learnt,

What is learnt in the public school, spelling, reading,          writing, ciphering, the black-board, the teacher's          diagrams,

The panes of the windows, all that appears through          them, the going forth in the morning, the aimless          spending of the day,

(What is it that you made money? What is it that you          got what you wanted?)

The usual routine, the work-shop, factory, yard, office,          store, desk,

The jaunt of hunting or fishing, and the life of hunt-          ing or fishing,

Pasture-life, foddering, milking, herding, and all the          personnel and usages,

The plum-orchard, apple-orchard, gardening, seed-          lings, cuttings, flowers, vines,

Grains, manures, marl, clay, loam, the subsoil          plough, the shovel, pick, rake, hoe, irrigation,          draining,

The curry-comb, the horse-cloth, the halter, bridle,          bits, the very wisps of straw,

The barn and barn-yard, the bins, mangers, mows,          racks,

Manufactures, commerce, engineering, the building of          cities, every trade carried on there, and the          implements of every trade,

The anvil, tongs, hammer, the axe and wedge, the          square, mitre, jointer, smoothing-plane,

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The plumbob, trowel, level, the wall-scaffold, the          work of walls and ceilings, or any mason-work,

The steam-engine, lever, crank, axle, piston, shaft,          air-pump, boiler, beam, pulley, hinge, flange,          band, bolt, throttle, governors, up and down          rods,

The ship's compass, the sailor's tarpaulin, the stays          and lanyards, the ground tackle for anchoring or          mooring, the life-boat for wrecks,

The sloop's tiller, the pilot's wheel and bell, the yacht          or fish-smack—the great gay-pennanted three-          hundred-foot steamboat, under full headway, with          her proud fat breasts, and her delicate swift-          flashing paddles,

The trail, line, hooks, sinkers, and the seine, and          hauling the seine,

The arsenal, small-arms, rifles, gunpowder, shot, caps,          wadding, ordnance for war, and carriages;

Every-day objects, house-chairs, carpet, bed, coun-          terpane of the bed, him or her sleeping at night,          wind blowing, indefinite noises,

The snow-storm or rain-storm, the tow-trowsers, the          lodge-hut in the woods, the still-hunt,

City and country, fire-place, candle, gas-light, heater,          aqueduct,

The message of the Governor, Mayor, Chief of Police          —the dishes of breakfast, dinner, supper,

The bunk-room, the fire-engine, the string-team, the          car or truck behind,

The paper I write on or you write on, every word we          write, every cross and twirl of the pen, and the          curious way we write what we think, yet very          faintly,

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The directory, the detector, the ledger, the books in          ranks on the book-shelves, the clock attached to          the wall,

The ring on your finger, the lady's wristlet, the scent-          powder, the druggist's vials and jars, the draught          of lager-beer,

The etui of surgical instruments, the etui of oculist's          or aurist's instruments, or dentist's instruments,

The permutating lock that can be turned and locked          as many different ways as there are minutes in a          year,

Glass-blowing, nail-making, salt-making, tin-roofing,          shingle-dressing, candle-making, lock-making and          hanging,

Ship-carpentering, dock-building, fish-curing, ferrying,          stone-breaking, flagging of side-walks by flaggers,

The pump, the pile-driver, the great derrick, the coal-          kiln and brick-kiln,

Coal-mines, all that is down there, the lamps in the          darkness, echoes, songs, what meditations, what          vast native thoughts looking through smutch'd          faces,

Iron-works, forge-fires in the mountains, or by river-          banks, men around feeling the melt with huge          crowbars—lumps of ore, the due combining of          ore, limestone, coal—the blast-furnace and the          puddling-furnace, the loup-lump at the bottom of          the melt at last—the rolling-mill, the stumpy          bars of pig-iron, the strong clean-shaped T rail          for railroads,

Oil-works, silk-works, white-lead-works, the sugar-          house, steam-saws, the great mills and factories,

Lead-mines, and all that is done in lead-mines, or          with the lead afterward,

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Copper-mines, the sheets of copper, and what is          formed out of the sheets, and all the work in          forming it,

Stone-cutting, shapely trimmings for façades, or win-          dow or door lintels—the mallet, the tooth-chisel,          the jib to protect the thumb,

Oakum, the oakum-chisel, the caulking-iron—the          kettle of boiling vault-cement, and the fire under          the kettle,

The cotton-bale, the stevedore's hook, the saw and          buck of the sawyer, the screen of the coal-          screener, the mould of the moulder, the work-          ing-knife of the butcher, the ice-saw, and all the          work with ice,

The four-double cylinder press, the hand-press, the          frisket and tympan, the compositor's stick and          rule, type-setting, making up the forms, all the          work of newspaper counters, folders, carriers,          news-men,

The implements for daguerreotyping—the tools of          the rigger, grappler, sail-maker, block-maker,

Goods of gutta-percha, papier-mache, colors, brushes,          brush-making, glazier's implements,

The veneer and glue-pot, the confectioner's orna-          ments, the decanter and glasses, the shears and          flat-iron,

The awl and knee-strap, the pint measure and quart          measure, the counter and stool, the writing-pen          of quill or metal—the making of all sorts of          edged tools,

The ladders and hanging-ropes of the gymnasium,          manly exercises, the game of base-ball, running,          leaping, pitching quoits,

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The designs for wall-papers, oil-cloths, carpets, the          fancies for goods for women, the book-binder's          stamps,

The brewery, brewing, the malt, the vats, every          thing that is done by brewers, also by wine-          makers, also vinegar-makers,

Leather-dressing, coach-making, boiler-making, rope-          twisting, distilling, sign-painting, lime-burning,          coopering, cotton-picking—electro-plating, elec-          trotyping, stereotyping,

Stave-machines, planing-machines, reaping-machines,          ploughing-machines, thrashing-machines, steam-          wagons,

The cart of the carman, the omnibus, the ponderous          dray,

The wires of the electric telegraph stretched on land,          or laid at the bottom of the sea, and then the          message in an instant from a thousand miles off,

The snow-plough, and two engines pushing it—the          ride in the express-train of only one car, the          swift go through a howling storm—the locomo-          tive, and all that is done about a locomotive,

The bear-hunt or coon-hunt—the bonfire of shavings          in the open lot in the city, and the crowd of          children watching,

The blows of the fighting-man, the upper-cut, and          one-two-three,

Pyrotechny, letting off colored fire-works at night,          fancy figures and jets,

Shop-windows, coffins in the sexton's ware-room, fruit          on the fruit-stand—beef in the butcher's stall,          the slaughter-house of the butcher, the butcher          in his killing-clothes,

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The area of pens of live pork, the killing-hammer, the          hog-hook, the scalder's tub, gutting, the cutter's          cleaver, the packer's maul, and the plenteous          winter-work of pork-packing,

Flour-works, grinding of wheat, rye, maize, rice—          the barrels and the half and quarter barrels, the          loaded barges, the high piles on wharves and          levees,

Bread and cakes in the bakery, the milliner's rib-          bons, the dress-maker's patterns, the tea-table,          the home-made sweetmeats;

Cheap literature, maps, charts, lithographs, daily and          weekly newspapers,

The column of wants in the one-cent paper, the news          by telegraph, amusements, operas, shows,

The business parts of a city, the trottoirs of a city          when thousands of well-dressed people walk up          and down,

The cotton, woollen, linen you wear, the money you          make and spend,

Your room and bed-room, your piano-forte, the stove          and cook-pans,

The house you live in, the rent, the other tenants, the          deposit in the savings-bank, the trade at the          grocery,

The pay on Seventh Day night, the going home, and          the purchases;

In them the heft of the heaviest—in them far more          than you estimated, and far less also,

In them realities for you and me—in them poems for          you and me,

In them, not yourself—you and your Soul enclose all          things, regardless of estimation,

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In them themes, hints, provokers—if not, the whole          earth has no themes, hints, provokers, and never          had.

30   I do not affirm what you see beyond is futile—I do          not advise you to stop,

I do not say leadings you thought great are not great,

But I say that none lead to greater, sadder, happier,          than those lead to.

31   Will you seek afar off? You surely come back at last,

In things best known to you, finding the best, or as          good as the best,

In folks nearest to you finding also the sweetest,          strongest, lovingest,

Happiness, knowledge, not in another place, but this          place—not for another hour, but this hour,

Man in the first you see or touch—always in your          friend, brother, nighest neighbor—Woman in          your mother, lover, wife,

The popular tastes and occupations taking precedence          in poems or any where,

You workwomen and workmen of These States having          your own divine and strong life,

Looking the President always sternly in the face,          unbending, nonchalant,

Understanding that he is to be kept by you to short          and sharp account of himself,

And all else thus far giving place to men and women          like you.

32   O you robust, sacred!

I cannot tell you how I love you;

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All I love America for, is contained in men and          women like you.

33   When the psalm sings instead of the singer,

When the script preaches instead of the preacher,

When the pulpit descends and goes instead of the          carver that carved the supporting-desk,

When I can touch the body of books, by night or by          day, and when they touch my body back again,

When the holy vessels, or the bits of the eucharist,          or the lath and plast, procreate as effectually as          the young silver-smiths or bakers, or the masons          in their over-alls,

When a university course convinces like a slumbering          woman and child convince,

When the minted gold in the vault smiles like the          night-watchman's daughter,

When warrantee deeds loafe in chairs opposite, and          are my friendly companions,

I intend to reach them my hand, and make as much          of them as I do of men and women like you.

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CHANTS DEMOCRATIC.

4.

AMERICA always!

Always me joined with you, whoever you are!

Always our own feuillage!

Always Florida's green peninsula! Always the price-          less delta of Louisiana! Always the cotton-fields          of Alabama and Texas!

Always California's golden hills and hollows—and          the silver mountains of New Mexico! Always          soft-breath'd Cuba!

Always the vast slope drained by the Southern Sea          —inseparable with the slopes drained by the          Eastern and Western Seas,

The area the Eighty-third year of These States—the          three and a half millions of square miles,

The eighteen thousand miles of sea-coast and bay-          coast on the main—the thirty thousand miles          of river navigation,

The seven millions of distinct families, and the same          number of dwellings—Always these and more,          branching forth into numberless branches;

Always the free range and diversity! Always the          continent of Democracy!

Always the prairies, pastures, forests, vast cities,          travellers, Kanada, the snows;

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Always these compact lands—lands tied at the hips          with the belt stringing the huge oval lakes;

Always the West, with strong native persons—the          increasing density there—the habitans, friendly,          threatening, ironical, scorning invaders;

All sights, South, North, East—all deeds, promis-          cuously done at all times,

All characters, movements, growths—a few noticed,          myriads unnoticed,

Through Mannahatta's streets I walking, these things          gathering;

On interior rivers, by night, in the glare of pine          knots, steamboats wooding up;

Sunlight by day on the valley of the Susquehanna,          and on the valleys of the Potomac and Rappa-          hannock, and the valleys of the Roanoke and          Delaware;

In their northerly wilds beasts of prey haunting the          Adirondacks, the hills—or lapping the Saginaw          waters to drink;

In a lonesome inlet, a sheldrake, lost from the flock,          sitting on the water, rocking silently;

In farmers' barns, oxen in the stable, their harvest          labor done—they rest standing—they are too          tired;

Afar on arctic ice, the she-walrus lying drowsily,          while her cubs play around;

The hawk sailing where men have not yet sailed—          the farthest polar sea, ripply, crystalline, open,          beyond the floes;

White drift spooning ahead, where the ship in the          tempest dashes;

On solid land, what is done in cities, as the bells all          strike midnight together;

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In primitive woods, the sounds there also sounding—          the howl of the wolf, the scream of the panther,          and the hoarse bellow of the elk;

In winter beneath the hard blue ice of Moosehead          Lake—in summer visible through the clear          waters, the great trout swimming;

In lower latitudes, in warmer air, in the Carolinas,          the large black buzzard floating slowly high          beyond the tree-tops,

Below, the red cedar, festooned with tylandria—the          pines and cypresses, growing out of the white          sand that spreads far and flat;

Rude boats descending the big Pedee—climbing          plants, parasites, with colored flowers and berries,          enveloping huge trees,

The waving drapery on the live oak, trailing long and          low, noiselessly waved by the wind;

The camp of Georgia wagoners, just after dark—the          supper-fires, and the cooking and eating by          whites and negroes,

Thirty or forty great wagons—the mules, cattle,          horses, feeding from troughs,

The shadows, gleams, up under the leaves of the old          sycamore-trees—the flames—also the black          smoke from the pitch-pine, curling and rising;

Southern fishermen fishing—the sounds and inlets          of North Carolina's coast—the shad-fishery          and the herring-fishery—the large sweep-seines          —the windlasses on shore worked by horses—          the clearing, curing, and packing houses;

Deep in the forest, in the piney woods, turpentine          and tar dropping from the incisions in the trees          —There is the turpentine distillery,

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There are the negroes at work, in good health—the          ground in all directions is covered with pine          straw;

In Tennessee and Kentucky, slaves busy in the coal-          ings, at the forge, by the furnace-blaze, or at the          corn-shucking;

In Virginia, the planter's son returning after a long          absence, joyfully welcomed and kissed by the          aged mulatto nurse;

On rivers, boatmen safely moored at night-fall, in their          boats, under the shelter of high banks,

Some of the younger men dance to the sound of the          banjo or fiddle—others sit on the gunwale,          smoking and talking;

Late in the afternoon, the mocking-bird, the American          mimic, singing in the Great Dismal Swamp—          there are the greenish waters, the resinous odor,          the plenteous moss, the cypress tree, and the          juniper tree;

Northward, young men of Mannahatta—the target          company from an excursion returning home at          evening—the musket-muzzles all bear bunches          of flowers presented by women;

Children at play—or on his father's lap a young boy          fallen asleep, (how his lips move! how he smiles          in his sleep!)

The scout riding on horseback over the plains west of          the Mississippi—he ascends a knoll and sweeps          his eye around;

California life—the miner, bearded, dressed in his          rude costume—the stanch California friendship          —the sweet air—the graves one, in passing,          meets, solitary, just aside the horse-path;

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Down in Texas, the cotton-field, the negro-cabins—          drivers driving mules or oxen before rude carts          —cotton-bales piled on banks and wharves;

Encircling all, vast-darting, up and wide, the Amer-          ican Soul, with equal hemispheres—one Love,          one Dilation or Pride;

In arriere, the peace-talk with the Iroquois, the          aborigines—the calumet, the pipe of good-will          arbitration, and indorsement,

The sachem blowing the smoke first toward the sun          and then toward the earth,

The drama of the scalp-dance enacted with painted          faces and guttural exclamations,

The setting out of the war-party—the long and          stealthy march,

The single file—the swinging hatchets—the surprise          and slaughter of enemies;

All the acts, scenes, ways, persons, attitudes of These          States—reminiscences, all institutions,

All These States, compact—Every square mile of          These States, without excepting a particle—you          also—me also,

Me pleased, rambling in lanes and country fields,          Paumanok's fields,

Me, observing the spiral flight of two little yellow          butterflies, shuffling between each other, ascend-          ing high in the air;

The darting swallow, the destroyer of insects—the          fall traveller southward, but returning northward          early in the spring;

The country boy at the close of the day, driving the          herd of cows, and shouting to them as they loiter          to browse by the road-side;

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The city wharf—Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore,          Charleston, New Orleans, San Francisco,

The departing ships, when the sailors heave at the          capstan;

Evening—me in my room—the setting sun,

The setting summer sun shining in my open window,          showing me flies, suspended, balancing in the          air in the centre of the room, darting athwart,          up and down, casting swift shadows in specks on          the opposite wall, where the shine is;

The athletic American matron speaking in public to          crowds of listeners;

Males, females, immigrants, combinations—the co-          piousness—the individuality and sovereignty          of The States, each for itself—the money-          makers;

Factories, machinery, the mechanical forces—the          windlass, lever, pulley—All certainties,

The certainty of space, increase, freedom, futurity,

In space, the sporades, the scattered islands, the stars          —on the firm earth, the lands, my lands,

O lands! all so dear to me—what you are, (what-          ever it is,) I become a part of that, whatever          it is,

Southward there, I screaming, with wings slow flap-          ping, with the myriads of gulls wintering along          the coasts of Florida—or in Louisiana, with          pelicans breeding,

Otherways, there, atwixt the banks of the Arkansaw,          the Rio Grande, the Nueces, the Brazos, the          Tombigbee, the Red River, the Saskatchawan, or          the Osage, I with the spring waters laughing and          skipping and running;

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Northward, on the sands, on some shallow bay of          Paumanok, I, with parties of snowy herons          wading in the wet to seek worms and aquatic          plants;

Retreating, triumphantly twittering, the king-bird,          from piercing the crow with its bill, for amuse-          ment—And I triumphantly twittering;

The migrating flock of wild geese alighting in autumn          to refresh themselves—the body of the flock feed          —the sentinels outside move around with erect          heads watching, and are from time to time re-          lieved by other sentinels—And I feeding and          taking turns with the rest;

In Kanadian forests, the moose, large as an ox, cor-          nered by hunters, rising desperately on his hind-          feet, and plunging with his fore-feet, the hoofs          as sharp as knives—And I, plunging at the          hunters, cornered and desperate;

In the Mannahatta, streets, piers, shipping, store-          houses, and the countless workmen working in          the shops,

And I too of the Mannahatta, singing thereof—and          no less in myself than the whole of the Manna-          hatta in itself,

Singing the song of These, my ever united lands          —my body no more inevitably united, part to          part, and made one identity, any more than          my lands are inevitably united, and made ONE          IDENTITY,

Nativities, climates, the grass of the great Pastoral          Plains,

Cities, labors, death, animals, products, good and evil          —these me,

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These affording, in all their particulars, endless          feuillage to me and to America, how can I do          less than pass the clew of the union of them, to          afford the like to you?

Whoever you are! how can I but offer you divine          leaves, that you also be eligible as I am?

How can I but, as here, chanting, invite you for          yourself to collect bouquets of the incomparable          feuillage of These States?

5.

RESPONDEZ! Respondez!

Let every one answer! Let those who sleep be          waked! Let none evade—not you, any more          than others!

(If it really be as is pretended, how much longer must          we go on with our affectations and sneaking?

Let me bring this to a close—I pronounce openly for          a new distribution of roles,)

Let that which stood in front go behind! and let          that which was behind advance to the front and          speak!

Let murderers, thieves, bigots, fools, unclean persons,          offer new propositions!

Let the old propositions be postponed!

Let faces and theories be turned inside out! Let          meanings be freely criminal, as well as results!

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Let there be no suggestion above the suggestion of          drudgery!

Let none be pointed toward his destination! (Say!          do you know your destination?)

Let trillions of men and women be mocked with          bodies and mocked with Souls!

Let the love that waits in them, wait! Let it die,          or pass still-born to other spheres!

Let the sympathy that waits in every man, wait!          or let it also pass, a dwarf, to other spheres!

Let contradictions prevail! Let one thing contradict          another! and let one line of my poems contradict          another!

Let the people sprawl with yearning aimless hands!          Let their tongues be broken! Let their eyes be          discouraged! Let none descend into their hearts          with the fresh lusciousness of love!

Let the theory of America be management, caste,          comparison! (Say! what other theory would          you?)

Let them that distrust birth and death lead the          rest! (Say! why shall they not lead you?)

Let the crust of hell be neared and trod on! Let the          days be darker than the nights! Let slumber          bring less slumber than waking-time brings!

Let the world never appear to him or her for whom          it was all made!

Let the heart of the young man exile itself from the          heart of the old man! and let the heart of the          old man be exiled from that of the young man!

Let the sun and moon go! Let scenery take the          applause of the audience! Let there be apathy          under the stars!

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Let freedom prove no man's inalienable right! Every          one who can tyrannize, let him tyrannize to his          satisfaction!

Let none but infidels be countenanced!

Let the eminence of meanness, treachery, sarcasm,          hate, greed, indecency, impotence, lust, be taken          for granted above all! Let writers, judges, gov-          ernments, households, religions, philosophies, take          such for granted above all!

Let the worst men beget children out of the worst          women!

Let priests still play at immortality!

Let Death be inaugurated!

Let nothing remain upon the earth except the ashes of          teachers, artists, moralists, lawyers, and learned          and polite persons!

Let him who is without my poems be assassinated!

Let the cow, the horse, the camel, the garden-bee—          Let the mud-fish, the lobster, the mussel, eel, the          sting-ray, and the grunting pig-fish—Let these,          and the like of these, be put on a perfect equality          with man and woman!

Let churches accommodate serpents, vermin, and the          corpses of those who have died of the most filthy          of diseases!

Let marriage slip down among fools, and be for none          but fools!

Let men among themselves talk and think obscenely          of women! and let women among themselves          talk and think obscenely of men!

Let every man doubt every woman! and let every          woman trick every man!

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Let us all, without missing one, be exposed in public,          naked, monthly, at the peril of our lives! Let          our bodies be freely handled and examined by          whoever chooses!

Let nothing but copies, pictures, statues, reminis-          cences, elegant works, be permitted to exist          upon the earth!

Let the earth desert God, nor let there ever hence-          forth be mentioned the name of God!

Let there be no God!

Let there be money, business, imports, exports, cus-          tom, authority, precedents, pallor, dyspepsia,          smut, ignorance, unbelief!

Let judges and criminals be transposed! Let the          prison-keepers be put in prison! Let those that          were prisoners take the keys! (Say! why might          they not just as well be transposed?)

Let the slaves be masters! Let the masters become          slaves!

Let the reformers descend from the stands where          they are forever bawling! Let an idiot or insane          person appear on each of the stands!

Let the Asiatic, the African, the European, the          American and the Australian, go armed against          the murderous stealthiness of each other! Let          them sleep armed! Let none believe in good-will!

Let there be no unfashionable wisdom! Let such be          scorned and derided off from the earth!

Let a floating cloud in the sky—Let a wave of the          sea—Let one glimpse of your eye-sight upon the          landscape or grass—Let growing mint, spinach,          onions, tomatoes—Let these be exhibited as          shows at a great price for admission!

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Let all the men of These States stand aside for a          few smouchers! Let the few seize on what they          choose! Let the rest gawk, giggle, starve, obey!

Let shadows be furnished with genitals! Let sub-          stances be deprived of their genitals!

Let there be wealthy and immense cities—but          through any of them, not a single poet, saviour,          knower, lover!

Let the infidels of These States laugh all faith away!          If one man be found who has faith, let the rest          set upon him! Let them affright faith! Let          them destroy the power of breeding faith!

Let the she-harlots and the he-harlots be prudent!          Let them dance on, while seeming lasts! (O          seeming! seeming! seeming!)

Let the preachers recite creeds! Let them teach only          what they have been taught!

Let the preachers of creeds never dare to go meditate          candidly upon the hills, alone, by day or by          night! (If one ever once dare, he is lost!)

Let insanity have charge of sanity!

Let books take the place of trees, animals, rivers,          clouds!

Let the daubed portraits of heroes supersede heroes!

Let the manhood of man never take steps after itself!          Let it take steps after eunuchs, and after con-          sumptive and genteel persons!

Let the white person tread the black person under his          heel! (Say! which is trodden under heel, after          all ?)

Let the reflections of the things of the world be studied          in mirrors! Let the things themselves continue          unstudied!

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Let a man seek pleasure everywhere except in him-          self! Let a woman seek happiness everywhere          except in herself! (Say! what real happiness          have you had one single time through your whole          life ?)

Let the limited years of life do nothing for the limit-          less years of death! (Say! what do you suppose          death will do, then ?)

6.

1   You just maturing youth! You male or female!

Remember the organic compact of These States,

Remember the pledge of the Old Thirteen thence-          forward to the rights, life, liberty, equality of          man,

Remember what was promulged by the founders, rat-          ified by The States, signed in black and white by          the Commissioners, and read by Washington at          the head of the army,

Remember the purpose of the founders,—Remember          Washington;

Remember the copious humanity streaming from every          direction toward America;

Remember the hospitality that belongs to nations and          men; (Cursed be nation, woman, man, without          hospitality!)

Remember, government is to subserve individuals,

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Not any, not the President, is to have one jot more          than you or me,

Not any habitan of America is to have one jot less          than you or me.

2   Anticipate when the thirty or fifty millions, are to be-          come the hundred, or two hundred millions, of          equal freemen and freewomen, amicably joined.

3   Recall ages—One age is but a part—ages are but a          part;

Recall the angers, bickerings, delusions, superstitions,          of the idea of caste,

Recall the bloody cruelties and crimes.

4   Anticipate the best women;

I say an unnumbered new race of hardy and well-          defined women are to spread through all These          States,

I say a girl fit for These States must be free, capable,          dauntless, just the same as a boy.

5   Anticipate your own life—retract with merciless          power,

Shirk nothing—retract in time—Do you see those          errors, diseases, weaknesses, lies, thefts?

Do you see that lost character?—Do you see de-          cay, consumption, rum-drinking, dropsy, fever,          mortal cancer or inflammation?

Do you see death, and the approach of death?

6   Think of the Soul;

I swear to you that body of yours gives proportions to          your Soul somehow to live in other spheres,

I do not know how, but I know it is so.

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7   Think of loving and being loved;

I swear to you, whoever you are, you can interfuse          yourself with such things that everybody that sees          you shall look longingly upon you.

8   Think of the past;

I warn you that in a little while, others will find their          past in you and your times.

9   The race is never separated—nor man nor woman          escapes,

All is inextricable—things, spirits, nature, nations,          you too—from precedents you come.

10   Recall the ever-welcome defiers, (The mothers precede          them;)

Recall the sages, poets, saviours, inventors, lawgivers,          of the earth,

Recall Christ, brother of rejected persons—brother          of slaves, felons, idiots, and of insane and diseased          persons.

11   Think of the time when you was not yet born,

Think of times you stood at the side of the dying,

Think of the time when your own body will be dying.