The Patriotic Poems of Walt Whitman

REIGN

or something to prove th

merica, her ath

poems that you behold

EE OL

e old

s, passionat

remorseless,

ughout the age

e sad war, gre

was really fought, and ever wi

thee, the etern

iers not for

ntly waiting behind, now

b of ma

e! thou well-kept, lat

a of thee the

gry and vehemen

to come for thric

for thee,-my book

I and mine, as the co

is turns, this book

he idea

U O DE

ke the continen

t splendid race the

divine mag

love of

e-long love

all the rivers of America, and along the shore

cities with their arms a

ove of c

ly love of

me, O Democracy, to

ou I am trilli

R WITH THY

with thy e

different States, y

ore I go I'd sing

e, the

for thee of end

ensemble includi

y real Union, and how

the house I

hose to come t

ing, and p

not great with refere

ill from what

formula for

bird on pi

lest spaces hea

ught I'd think

citative I'd b

poets of other lands

s that have served

cs, nor perfume of foreig

forests of pine in Maine, or

eorgia or Tennessee, or from Te

ck stream, or the wid

f Yellowstone's sc

rvading all, I'd bring

ds from the two Gre

r sense subtler re

thee, mind-formulas fitted for thee, re

ving deeper than we knew,

e justified, blen

justified, bl

ea, lo, the im

ality, lo, the

w World, what a

n-out of the peerless

sing science, to recas

em, end them-maybe their

on, on the background of

ute faith the migh

ent brain, heir of the d

ike an unborn babe wit

t so long-haply thou but unf

the essence of the bygon

nwitting to themselves, dest

les, long, long,

the Old ripenin

y best, ship

reight, 'tis not

s also sto

e of thyself alone, not of

oats on thy keel O ship,

trust, the antecedent nati

, martyrs, heroes, epics, wars,

h as thine, the desti

and and wary eye O helmsman,

ly Asia sails th

dal Europe sa

ew superber birth th

olden cloud fillin

al maternity li

the bearer of da

thy giant babes in cease

ion, taking and giving co

eal-world of t

world of the real alone, led

calculable masses of comp

warded, by every nation

freer, vast, electric wor

orld of orbic science, mor

undefined, unform'd, n

he impenetrable bl

us greatness evi

absorbing the present,

and thy shadow shadowing

e to define thee, har

me, thee prop

thee ej

n thy

ife, career, thy own unloose

ded sun, radiant, ablaze, s

eerfulness and joy, in

that hung so long, that weigh'

dread, of gradual, cer

male, male-thee in thy athletes, mora

of All, thy every daughter, son

ns, singers, artists, u

tion (until which thy proudest materi

-enclosing worship-thee in no

thyself, thy bibles incessant within

ing, not in thy two great wars, n

leaves and chants, thy

of thee, in teachers, studi

masse, thy high original festiva

ations only now completed, the e

thought, thy topmost rational joys

ti, thy full-lung'd orators, thy

e (certain to come)

ting all, not for the good

s of God to be a

f God to be a ru

rise three p

my country, Ensemble

the sky

cedented fait

very subsoil

o sedulously draped over, now hen

heaven's light f

succes

sail uninter

the murk of war and worse tha

s tug and trials? be cap

n of nations come at last in

hall approach beguiling thee,

claws, clinging upon thy breasts,

moral consumption, shall r

fortunes, thy diseases

day and whatever thro

ll lift and pass away

unding, out of thyself, thyse

cal Union thou (the mor

ment of the future, the spir

, its de

s destinies,

ions of the real); In thee Am

globes! thou w

and cold convuls'd (by t

rb-thou New, indeed

hee not-for such va

'd flight as thine,

holds thee and

ST I SE

turn'd from hi

st I se

ou mov'st down histo

ime shoots warlike

ere Washington sat, ru

udal Europe fêted, vene

with even pace the r

n lands, in all th

gns of the West, Kans

ns, comrades, farmers, s

with kings with even pace

l so ju

HESE BROAD

e broad majest

le of blood finish'd, wh

s erewhile havin

, yet perhaps in tim

ime in still more drea

nd crises, labours

t éclat of the world

s of recognized

of cities and the

(they will las

es with their fo

ement of all, and d

announce s

tics, cities, factor

distant bugles pouring, triumphantly

ealities-all is

y real

is so re

rage, freedom to every slav

f seers, the spiritual world,

ons of poets, the most so

TATES TO OLD

s of to-day, the les

ravel, shelter,

of some varied, vas

able in time, the towe

spires tall shoo

OF THE

dern! years of

see it parting away

t only Liberty's nation bu

and exits, new combinatio

fronts a new era, perha

ppen next, such portents

ad as I walk, as I vainly try to

soon to be, project t

heat, this strange ecstat

penetrate through me! (I kno

d Europe grow dim, retir

gigantic than ever, ad

R OF

70

r of

f thy hope and s

ship that led th

eck driven by the g

ming madden'd ha

m nor h

mitte

e, pale symbol of my s

the daring, rage

e far ideal, enthusiast'

the tyrant an

fied-by tr

er a land of de

nate, mocking,

rrors, vanities, sins, I

es and pangs have

t thee

any faults thou ev

t really sell thyself h

wakedst weeping fr

ers thou, giantess, didst re

not, wouldst not, w

vid face, thy pier

thrust i

France, beat bac

ten orb! O shi

ip of all, the

thly fire and

spasms of fury

t in perfect p

the sun follo

O ship o

days, the clo

r, the long-sou

, high o'er the

nce, as face afar to face,

O France, fai

e, clearer, more

beam i

OU

e years

s'd through convuls'd pain

promise, the sure fulfilment, the absolute success,

gle so fierce for

e models departed, caste, myths, obe

es, the Western States, or see freedom or

sults of the war glorious and inevitable,

ow the Democratic masses, tur

restle of evil with good, the sou

and is for a while between t

e triumph of freedom and of the Democracies, and o

elves-and how all triumphs and glories a

es will in turn be convuls'd, and ser

Democratic masses too, serve-and how every fac

me each serves the exqui

ng into the gro

America, inland, upward, to i

tucky, Arkansas, and

how there in Nebraska, Col

he Northern Pacific

he preparation for-and of what all si

the solemn price paid, of the un

se of materials fo

eparting-of the growth of

re the fresh free giver the m

ities yet unsurvey

of the modern developments,

fe there, of simple diet

faces, clear eyes, and

ts future years far West,

understood there (bei

corn of grossne

day-what is gain after all

ONTARI

Ontario'

ays and of peace return'd, an

superb, with stern

t comes from the soul of Americ

ches of Libertad, mar

ou go the song of th

conqueror, yet treacher

infidelity a

announcin

ly growth by which I

t all, then reproduc

proof is in

nativity is answer e

lves as a weap

l and tremendo

lves, we are sufficient i

autiful to ourselv

n the middle, branchin

ska, or Kansas, laug

ul to us outsid

es not appear, we are beautif

r-O Sist

no victor else h

es we go down to

there could be bu

ountervail another any more than one eyesight coun

eligibl

dividuals, al

prohibited, no

only health puts you ra

Persons, the

formity to th

allegiance, to

ingly compels men

your seats and con

es with a barb'd tongue, q

ted only to be told

ed only a book to joi

s as thine own O bea

wild to a race

freer than all that

han all that has been b

ance, civilizati

sweet, the sucki

ncing mortal ri

he decay of the rugged

long been accumulatin

ilders, and bring

d Europe have done their work

work of surpassing

oreign characters, stands

omposite, sound, initiates

e past or what they have

ess, perceives the corpse s

ttle while in the door, that

d to the stalwart and well

all be fittest

one natio

he promise and rel

s are the a

nation but a teemin

espond with the broadcast d

magnificent masses c

rds, friendliness, comba

ere the crowds, equality,

and bards to

them, one lifts to the

untenance bequeath'd bot

stances, earth, wat

n stock, having ro

th other lands, inc

to himself, hanging on its

l muscle into its m

nnings, events, diversi

s, lakes, bays,

anging chutes, Columbia, Niagara, Huds

the Pacific coast stretch, he str

t and West, and touching

of pine, cedar, hemlock, live-oak, locust, ch

d in him as any c

f mountains, forests coated w

et and natural as sav

, answering those of the fish-hawk,

his country's spirit, u

s of real things, old t

d shores, islands, tr

landings, settlements, e

Year One, war, peace, the fo

the simple elastic sc

g with blatherers and al

og-houses, clearings, wild

iculture, mines, temperature,

th-month, the members duly com

cter of mechanics and farme

ips, the gait they have of persons who never knew

r physiognomy, the copiousness a

of their carriage, their

in music, their curiosity, good temper and

r and enterprise, th

emale with the male, the flui

ee commerce, fisheries,

lroad and steamboat line

abour-saving machinery, the N

he Yankee swap, sout

erous conspiracy to raise it

Assassin! then your life or ours

oward heave

the conqueress'

w aureola aro

astral, but dazz

and the lambent

immovable wh

ishable glance and the c

the menacing one, the scorner

de and advanced with his senseless

the braggart that wou

and damn'd, the desp

o the dunghill m

e Republic is ever constru

but you O days of the

believe in you-I isolat

you build for mank

ers, I lead them who plan

ith friendly hand

ses sending sane chi

th no thought of the stain, pains, d

he Phantom by O

ice arising de

m alone can these States be fused in

paper and seal or by c

s all in a living principle, as the hold of

ull of poetical stuff most need poets, and are

be their common referee s

ve and tong

deepest deeps an

full in all besides, yet

s the poet is

hings are grotesque, eccentri

lace is good, nothin

or quality its fit propor

r of the diverse

alizer of his

s supplying, he check

building populous towns, encouraging agriculture, arts, commerce, l

fetches artillery as good as the engineer's,

rd infidelity he withho

s judgment (Nature ac

ges but as the sun falli

farthest he has

the hymns of the

n God and eterni

like a play with a p

women, he does not see men

the idea of perfect

walks in advance,

eers up slaves and hor

s Liberty, without r

elings of young men

table heads of the earth been al

e grea

ren, that is the

ern defianc

rapid arming

ick-folded, and inst

ag of the

h I saw the

aden rain your flap

beckoning through the figh

osy-flashing muzzles-th

d the smoke-the volleys po

rge!-now the tussle and th

tumble curl'd

eath, for preci

I saw ther

me a place to teach or be

august, the t

ch here may well prepar

der, arm, fortify, hard

on'd beforehand by me wit

d who would talk

out the land, i

politics, geography, pride, freedom, friend

first year of Independence, sign'd by the Commissioners, ratifie

yourself of the F

cesses and poems behind them, and assum

hat the land and sea, the bodies of men, w

ough fleeting cus

follies, whirls, fierce contentions? are you

coterie? some scho

and criticisms of life? an

urself from the mate

ever-fresh forbeara

ardening to maturity? for the last-bo

s you bring

orm with m

that has been better

d this or the spirit

rhyme? a prettiness?-is

heels of the poets, politicia

at what is notoriousl

versal needs? will

oice the proud victory of th

e face the open fie

bsorb food, air, to appear ag

ributed to it? original ma

iscoveries, calibres,

n persons, progresses, citie

menacing, silent, the mechanics, Manhattanese, Western men, Southerners

efallen, each temporizer, patcher, outsider, partialist, a

and scornfu

'd with the dus

e others disda

s away, poems distill'

tors and the polite

edient persons, make bu

me, no disguise can deceive it or co

s of itself will it

n due time advance to meet th

eferr'd till his country absorbs him as

rs, he tastes sweetest who re

rawn beloved of ti

hy, an appropriate native gran

contributes the greatest o

eed, silently emerging,

ly doers, lovers, satis

no more priests, I s

cies here, but life is p

nners, superb? after de

esteem, clear the way

lace any thing

hind me

l-myself, typic

pay I have

gs of the great Idea

th, sun, animals, I

'd, stood up for the stupid and crazy,

d patience and indulgence toward the people,

ated persons and with the young,

f in the open air, tried t

insulted my own sou

h I have not carefully claim'd

comrades found and ac

any a dying soldier lea

his voice, have nouris

ling many a p

e understood by the growt

none, perm

e I not to your th

life kept you and

o see the meaning

h, it is not Ameri

r to be great, it is Y

through civilizations,

geants, shows, to

h all, in

good to me now that

act is altogether

is that which makes

e is directed unerringly to one

nse severe, with the na

use to treat but dire

th all,

y my own nativity, pio

rm'd with nothin

nations, are only be

he Expression of lo

mean and impotent modes of ex

own modes of expressing

ve each quality o

States whose manners favour the audacit

irits, Nature, governments, ownershi

self, to you yourself (the

hat this America i

ons, testimony,

thefts, defectio

the officers, capitols, ar

tions of new Stat

nd grim, the war I will hence

artificial a

forms, employment

t, future, a

hirk any par

of America

r that which bu

s, complexions, cre

cience nor the m

gant blood of the br

that have never

hose tempers have n

theories, conventio

o walk abreast wi

te one to in

outfaced by ir

t it is in them that

es and civilizat

from America-it is the am

pons were everywhere

h to immortal children, saw

eading mantle co

these shows of t

f I am to be

I am not as ma

am not as subtle

am to be less ge

meaning, while the house

are to be enough for themselves, an

st yours you orbs, grow

rb you all in myself, and

bodying all, what is it

what are they

is gross, tantalizing,

y to be mine, you t

own, bend close

e plots and wars and

know that through war and crime you

lue Ontar

d me and the waves ca

s pulsations, and the char

hat held me parted

he free sou

ds of past ages

g unwaked, undisclosed

rse, my call

past, not to invoke them

se lofty bards here

apricious and lo

y own land

war is over, the

marches henceforth t

r your boundless

of the peaceful inventions! (

mies, a million soldie

burning coals or the li

ds-bards of California! in

y charm

IL

FROM YOUR FA

thomless deeps, till you

ing gymnastic I devour'

of the north, long I w

slept on their breast, I cross'd

rocks along the Pacifi

he storm, I was re

y the threatening

bs where they career'd

piping; I saw t

d mounted (O superb! O wild

thunder as it bellow'

lightning as sudden and fast amid the di

, elate, saw-saw with wonde

ight of the globe

oul I fed, I fed co

-'twas a good prep

r latent and ampl

eive what the earth an

woods we go, but thro

pouring now more t

d rills of the Northwest ar

eads here, what were those st

itness around me to-d

the pipe of death un

fathomable, something

g with menacing front-Cinc

saw on the ocean? be

daring feet and h

after the lightning-how bri

l port strides on, shown through the

nd low sob I fancied I

the deafeni

n, Democracy! strike

gher than ever yet

ier yet O storms! y

mountains absorbs your i

, my country roads through

ting like a snake, crawl'

steps, turning upon me of

bandon'd and left, I sped to t

ering, for primal energies

with it only, I c

h of the pent fire-on the

wait, I am fully sat

e lightning, I have witn

d man burst forth and

ore the food of the no

tains roam or sa

E

NTRY LI

CITY,

riber'

anges have been

hless grass" changed to "

eams you" changed to