The Patriotic Poems of Walt Whitman

AMERICA

inging, the vari

one singing his as it sho

ng his as he measur

s he makes ready for wo

to him in his boat, the deckhan

e sits on his bench, the h

oy's on his way in the morning, or

er, or of the young wife at work,

elongs to him or he

day-at night the party of yo

mouths their stron

S! O PI

an-faced

order, get your

ols? have you your

s! O pi

annot ta

rlings, we must bea

newy races, all th

s! O pi

ths, West

action, full of manl

n youths, see you tram

s! O pi

elder rac

heir lesson, wearied ov

eternal, and the b

s! O pi

ast we le

newer mightier w

orld we seize, world o

s! O pi

ents stead

ough the passes, up

daring, venturing as

s! O pi

al forest

vexing we and piercing

surveying, we the v

s! O pi

do men

, from the great sierra

m the gully, from the

s! O pi

aska, fro

from Missouri, with the co

es clasping, all the So

s! O pi

ess restl

O my breast aches wit

exult, I am rapt

s! O pi

ighty mothe

tress, over all the starry m

ike mistress, stern, impa

s! O pi

dren, resol

our rear we must ne

millions frowning t

s! O pi

the comp

ting, with the places of

rough defeat, moving y

s! O pi

e advan

s to droop and die?

fittest die, soon and

s! O pi

ulses of

for us, with the We

ther, steady moving to

s! O pi

v'd and vari

shows, all the wor

landsmen, all the mas

s! O pi

pless sile

he prisons, all the ri

he sorrowing, all the

s! O pi

h my soul

io, picking, wan

id the shadows, with th

s! O pi

arting bo

around, all the clust

ys, all the mystic

s! O pi

f us, they

k, while the followers th

n heading, we the rou

s! O pi

ghters of

r daughters! O you m

divided, in our ra

s! O pi

atent on th

r lands, you may rest,

g warbling, soon you

s! O pi

electatio

e slipper, not the pea

nd palling, not for u

s! O pi

ters glutto

ers sleep? have they l

iet hard, and the b

s! O pi

night de

oilsome? did we stop disc

yield you in your tra

s! O pi

sound of

ak call-hark! how loud

f the army!-swift! s

s! O pi

THE BR

apely, na

e mother's b

al bone, limb only o

at grown, helve produced

e grass am

n'd and t

s of strong shapes, masculi

in of an emblem

kipping staccato over the

earth's lands, e

lands of p

ands of the l

are land

wheat and maize, welc

lands of sug

welcome those of the whi

ins, flats, sands,

rders of rivers, ta

-lands, welcome the teeming soi

uch the other mor

ds of gold or whe

ands of the manly

, copper, lea

lands of the m

ood-pile, the ax

over the doorway, the s

rain down on the leaves a

ing at intervals, th

e storm and put on their beam end

uge timbers of old-fas

rative, the voyage at a ven

ion, the foundi

ught a New England and fou

he Arkansas, Colorad

e scant fare, the axe

l adventurous an

and wood-men with thei

nce, departure, actions

tutes and ceremonies, the bou

r, the inkling through rand

e, the hands aboard schooners and

k in the woods, stripes of snow on the

ice, the merry song, the natural lif

taste of supper, the talk, the bed

r at work in cit

inting, squaring,

e push of them in their p

tenons in the mortises acco

ammers, the attitudes of t

he beams, driving in pins, h

the plate, the other

cing the planks c

ing their weapons do

nding through th

carried up in the

two at each end, carefully bearing on the

heir right hands rapidly laying the long sid

backs, the continual click of

d so workman-like in its place, and s

r on the mortar-boards, and the s

yard, the swarming row o

he square-hew'd log shaping

of the steel driven sl

hips flying off in gr

brawny young arms and

bridges, piers, bulk-heads,

that suddenly bursts forth

e hoarse shouts, the nim

umpets, the falling in line, the rise

ts, the bringing to bear of the hoo

ing wood-work, or through floors

t faces watching, the g

ge-furnace and the us

arge and small, and th

eath on the cold steel and t

s the handle and sets i

ns of the portraits o

mechanics, the arch

yrian edifice a

tors precedin

ean warrior with

e clatter of blows o

y tumbling body, the rush

lted lieges deter

the battering at castle ga

an old city

enaries and bigots tumu

blood, drunken

es and temples, screams of wo

mp-followers, men runnin

ar, the cruel

cutive deeds and wo

personality j

nd pluck

tes life invi

nce as much as th

no more uncertai

of man encloses as much as the de

dures but pers

you thin

k a great c

te? or a prepared constitution

n? or any chef-d'oeuvres of

ot to be cherish'

he dancers dance, the m

all does well e

ell till one fl

t which has the gre

s it is still the greates

t the place of stretch'd wharves, docks,

lutes of new-comers or the an

ostliest buildings or shops sellin

raries and schools, nor the p

f the most nume

with the brawniest bre

elov'd by these, and loves them

t to heroes but in the

its place, and prud

d women think li

ases, and the mast

nce against the never-ending

h as the sea to the whistle of death

ters always after the prec

and ideal, and President, Mayor, Gove

to be laws to themselves,

ty is illustra

ons on the soul

ic processions in the st

lic assembly and take pl

f the faithfules

the cleanliness of

f the healthiest

f the best-bodie

great ci

ar arguments befo

terials of cities shrivels b

y default till a st

of of the race and of the

appears materia

e on the s

ases are confronted, tu

ey-making now? w

ur respect

tuition, society, tradit

our jibes o

r cavils abou

e, there is as good as the best f

mine, there a

is accomplish'd, the hammers-men are

ed and always se

has better served,

d and subtle-sensed Gree

the buildings that

he Persian, the most

ississippi, served those whose r

ods or on plains, with unh

vast, high, silent, on the sno

on the granite walls rough sketches of

tions of the Goths, served th

Kelt, served the hardy

ose the venerable and h

r the galleys of pleasure and

ks on land and all g

ages and before t

g only then as now,

European

ed in red, with huge le

on a pon

aughter'd lately

ood upon you so

ar sunsets of

scaffolds the d

rown'd ladies, impeach'd

soners, disgraced chi

any land have died

evertheless the crop

ngs, O priests, the cr

wash'd entirely

and helve

of European nobles, they clas

man withdraw an

dden and mouldy, I see n

emblem of the power of my own

o not vaunt m

what

axe

est gives flu

forth, they

, landing

h, pick, cro

p, wainscot, jamb,

on, academy, organ, ex

ilaster, balcony, w

l, wagon, staff, saw, jack-

table, wicket, v

ng'd instrument, boat

, and capitol of t

ues, hospitals for orphan

and clippers taking t

hapes

s anyhow, and the users an

nd haulers of it to th

lifornian mountains or by the l

e Gila or Rio Grande, friendly ga

rth in Kanada, or down by the Yellowst

arctic seamen breaking

hapes

ies, arsenals, f

wo-threaded tra

of bridges, vast fram

barges, tows, lake and c

the Eastern and Western seas,

ine planks, the spars, the

ys, the tiers of scaffolds, the

ger and little auger, the adze, bolt

hapes

d, saw'd, jack'd,

r the dead to lie w

in the bedstead posts, in

the shape of the rockers beneath

-planks, the floor-pla

family home, the home of the

e happy young man and woman, the roof o

the chaste wife, and joyously eaten by the c

hapes

ace in the court-room, and of

an'd against by the young rum-

d and angry stairs tro

ettee, and the adulter

ng-board with its devil

victed and sentenced murderer, the murde

ties, the silent and white-lipp'd

hapes

giving many exit

dissever'd friend f

admits good ne

son left home conf

nd scandalous absence, diseas'd, broken

hape

han ever, yet more

e moves among do not ma

as she passes, nothin

ss considerate or

ithout exception, she has no rea

ongs, smutty expressions, ar

possess'd of herself,

he laws of Nature rece

ature-there is no law

n shape

racy total, res

projecting o

urbulent ma

ds and home-givers

earth and braced wi

E SPLENDID

silent sun with all h

nal fruit ripe and

where the unmo

ur, give me the

eat, give me serene-movin

n high plateaus west of the Mississ

garden of beautiful flowers

weet-breath'd woman of w

e away aside from the noise of

eous songs recluse by mys

Nature, give me again O Na

ired with ceaseless excitement,

santly asking, rising

tly asking still I

r upon year O city,

ain'd a certain time r

utted, enrich'd of soul,

to escape, confrontin

trampling down w

splendid s

ature, and the quiet

er and timothy, and your

ckwheat fields where t

me these phantoms incessant a

ve me women-give me comrades

y day-let me hold new on

s-give me the str

ldiers marching-give me the s

or regiments-some starting

thinn'd ranks, young, yet very old

nd wharves heavy-fri

ntense life, full to

eatre, bar-room, h

the crowded excursion for m

r the war, with high piled

ming, with strong voic

heir powerful throbs, wi

he rustle and clank of muskets

with their turbule

es and eyes f

A

f the mother o

am full

the smoke of the

r the rows of tr

safras and wild-cherry a

adies in full dr

e singers were

son youth from the white

d a w

cap, her face is clearer and

ir under the shaded p

hines on her o

wn is of cre

and her granddaughters spun it

s character

philosophy cannot go a

fied moth

GNET

glistening perfume

, impulse and love! good a

ving things and the trees where I w

s where they flow, distant, over flat

he Altamahaw, the Pedee, the Tombigbee,

ing, I return with my soul

float on the Okeechobee, I cross the hummock-la

woods, I see the papaw-tr

on deck, I coast off Georgi

the yellow-pine, the scented bay-tree, the lemo

nter Pamlico sound through an i

the growing fields o

thorns, the laurel-tree

barrenness, the old woods charged

lness (here in these dense swamps the freebooter carr

ested by reptiles, resounding with the bellow of the alligator, the sad n

mic, singing all the forenoon, si

e wild turkey, the r

d corn, slender, flapping, bright green, with tassels

fierce pangs, I can stand

where I grew up! O

I will go back to old Tenn

POTOMAC

ac's shore, ag

ejaculating, canst ne

in to you, your sense, the

ours, again Virginia's summer

enoon purple

s grass, so noisel

lood-red ro

ook of mine O

your waters eve

g, before I close, to

of the hills, befo

ess gras

D FEUI

ur old f

the priceless delta of Louisiana-alway

hollows, and the silver mountains of

uthern sea, inseparable with the slopes

of these States, the three and

st and bay-coast on the main, the thir

e same number of dwellings-always these, and m

nd diversity-always the

es, forests, vast cities, t

ed at the hips with the belt

e increasing density there, the habitans, frie

, East-all deeds promisc

ts, growths, a few noti

streets I walking, th

t in the glare of pine kno

, and on the valleys of the Potomac and Rappahan

y haunting the Adirondacks the hills,

e lost from the flock, sitting

le, their harvest labour done, the

e-walrus lying drowsily w

t sail'd, the farthest polar sea, ripp

ahead where the ship

e in cities as the bells

nding, the howl of the wolf, the scream of t

osehead lake, in summer visible through t

e Carolinas the large black buzzard fl

ria, the pines and cypresses growing out o

mbing plants, parasites with colour'd fl

e-oak trailing long and low,

er dark, the supper-fires and the coo

ns, the mules, cattle, hor

e old sycamore-trees, the flames with the blac

, the shad-fishery and the herring-fishery, the large sweep-seines, the win

ntine dropping from the incisions in th

ood health, the ground in all dire

in the coalings, at the forge, by the

g after a long absence, joyfully welcom

'd at nightfall in their boat

sound of the banjo or fiddle, others

ng-bird, the American mimic, si

esinous odour, the plenteous moss, t

from an excursion returning home at evening, the musket

ap a young boy fallen asleep (how his

plains west of the Mississippi, he asce

tume, the stanch California friendship, the sweet air, the g

ns, drivers driving mules or oxen before rude

e, the American Soul, with equal hemisp

is the aborigines, the calumet, the pipe

oke first toward the sun

e enacted with painted face

he war-party, the lo

ing hatchets, the surprise

rsons, attitudes of these Stat

ry square mile of these State

n lanes and country fi

le yellow butterflies shuffling between

sects, the fall traveller southward but

iving the herd of cows and shouting to the

delphia, Baltimore, Charlesto

when the sailors h

n my room-th

uspended, balancing in the air in the centre of the room, darting athwart, up a

atron speaking in publi

the copiousness, the individuality of th

anical forces, the windlass, l

space, increase,

ter'd islands, the stars-on the

ever it is), I putting it at random in these

slow flapping, with the myriads of gull

Nueces, the Brazos, the Tombigbee, the Red River, the Saskatchewan or

f Paumanok, I with parties of snowy herons wad

g-bird, from piercing the crow with its bill

the flock feed, the sentinels outside move around with erect heads watching, and are fr

desperately on his hind-feet, and plunging with his fore-feet, the hoofs

shipping, store-houses, and the cou

thereof-and no less in myself than

united, part to part, and made out of a thousand diverse contributions one

, the grass of the g

animals, products, war

lage to me and to America, how can I do less than pass t

offer you divine leaves, that

ou for yourself to collect bouquets of t

DWAY P

n sea hither fr

wart-cheek'd two

r open barouches, ba

y through

now whether others b

with the nobles of Nip

overing above, around,

ou a song of what

anhattan unpent desce

ing guns arouse me wit

out of the smoke and smell

ly alerted me, and heaven-clouds can

aight stems, the forests at the

hly drest carries h

and street-festoons

up to foot-passengers and foot-s

alive with people, when eyes gaze r

lands advance, when the pag

hen the answer that waited

nd to the pavements, merge with

faced M

to us, then at las

, my

on beauties range on opposite sid

r Antipod

ginatre

, the bequeather of p

nsive, rapt with musi

me, with ample an

, with intense soul

of Brah

and more are flashing to

kaleidoscope divine it m

r the tann'd Japanee

ears, the Asiatic continent its

rning of wonder an

eries, the old and

th, eastern Assyria, the Hebr

ng present, all of these and mor

the world

ood of islands, Polyn

e facing-you Libertad! from

ir populations, the millions

s with idols ranged along the sides or

merchant, mechan

ncing-girl, the ecstatic pe

eat poets and heroes, the

from all directions, f

four winding and far-f

las and the demi-continen

to them palpable show forth

y them, and frien

I chant, Libertad! for

y voice join the ra

, I chant aloud

world on my

islands beyond, thic

nder than any before, as i

mistress, I chant

blooming cities yet in time o

team-ships threadin

tripes flutter

of ages having done its wo

t I know not-but the old, the

this day surroun

bertad of

dle well-pois'd thousand

side the nobles o

side the queen of England

versing, the o

ircled, the j

en'd, nevertheless the perfume po

th the venerable A

r now and ever hot Lib

g-off mother now sending messag

neck low for onc

ying westward so long?

ages debouching westwar

ting it that way, all the while

h'd, they shall now be turn'd the othe

ch obediently eastward

AIRIE

of creation, no

rn, populous millio

ced, composite, t

buted-freedom's and law

paradise, so far, of

tify t