Leaves of Grass (1867)

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¹ AS I walk, solitary, unattended,

Around me I hear that eclat of the world—politics,
produce,

The announcements of recognized things—science,

The approved growth of cities, and the spread of
inventions.

² I see the ships, (they will last a few years,)

The vast factories, with their foremen and workmen,

And hear the indorsement of all, and do not object
to it.

³ But we too announce solid things;

Science, ships, politics, cities, factories, are not nothing
—they serve,

They stand for realities—all is as it should be.

⁴ Then my realities;

What else is so real as mine?

Libertad, and the divine average—Freedom to every
slave on the face of the earth,

The rapt promises and luminé of seers—the spiritual
world—these centuries-lasting songs,

And our visions, the visions of poets, the most solid
announcements of any.

⁵ For we support all,

After the rest is done and gone, we remain;

There is no final reliance but upon us;

Democracy rests finally upon us, (I, my brethren,
begin it,)

And our visions sweep through eternity.

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