Whitman, walt leaves of grass first and death bed editions

Table of Contents FROM THE PAGES OF LEAVES OF GRASS Title Page Copyright Page WALT WHITMAN THE WORLD OF WALT WHITMAN AND LEAVES OF GRASS Introduction Leaves of Grass - Brooklyn, New York : 1855 INTRODUCTION TO FIRST EDITION [PREFACE] [Song of Myself] [A Song for Occupations] [To Think of Time] [The Sleepers] [I Sing the Body Electric] [Faces] [Song of the Answerer] [Europe, The 72d and 73d Years of These States] [A Boston Ballad] [There Was a Child Went Forth] [Who Learns My Lesson Complete] [Great Are the Myths] Leaves of Grass INTRODUCTION - TO “DEATH-BED” EDITION INSCRIPTIONS ONE‘S-SELF I SING AS I PONDER’D IN SILENCE IN CABIN’D SHIPS AT SEA TO FOREIGN LANDS TO A HISTORIAN TO THEE OLD CAUSE EIDÓLONS FOR HIM I SING WHEN I READ THE BOOK BEGINNING MY STUDIES BEGINNERS TO THE STATES ON JOURNEYS THROUGH THE STATES TO A CERTAIN CANTATRICE ME IMPERTURBE SAVANTISM THE SHIP STARTING I HEAR AMERICA SINGING WHAT PLACE IS BESIEGED? STILL THOUGH THE ONE I SING SHUT NOT YOUR DOORS POETS TO COME TO YOU THOU READER STARTING FROM PAUMANOK SONG OF MYSELF CHILDREN OF ADAM TO THE GARDEN THE WORLD FROM PENT-UP ACHING RIVERS I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC A WOMAN WAITS FOR ME SPONTANEOUS ME ONE HOUR TO MADNESS AND JOY OUT OF THE ROLLING OCEAN THE CROWD AGES AND AGES RETURNING AT INTERVALS WE TWO, HOW LONG WE WERE FOOL’D O HYMEN! O HYMENEE! I AM HE THAT ACHES WITH LOVE NATIVE MOMENTS ONCE I PASS’D THROUGH A POPULOUS CITY I HEARD YOU SOLEMN-SWEET PIPES OF THE ORGAN FACING WEST FROM CALIFORNIA’S SHORES AS ADAM EARLY IN THE MORNING CALAMUS IN PATHS UNTRODDEN SCENTED HERBAGE OF MY BREAST WHOEVER YOU ARE HOLDING ME NOW IN HAND FOR YOU O DEMOCRACY THESE I SINGING IN SPRING NOT HEAVING FROM MY RIBB’D BREAST ONLY OF THE TERRIBLE DOUBT OF APPEARANCES THE BASE OF ALL METAPHYSICS RECORDERS AGES HENCE WHEN I HEARD AT THE CLOSE OF THE DAY ARE YOU THE NEW PERSON DRAWN TOWARD ME? ROOTS AND LEAVES THEMSELVES ALONE NOT HEAT FLAMES UP AND CONSUMES TRICKLE DROPS CITY OF ORGIES BEHOLD THIS SWARTHY FACE I SAW IN LOUISIANA A LIVE-OAK GROWING TO A STRANGER THIS MOMENT YEARNING AND THOUGHTFUL I HEAR IT WAS CHARGED AGAINST ME THE PRAIRIE-GRASS DIVIDING WHEN I PERUSE THE CONQUER’D FAME WE TWO BOYS TOGETHER CLINGING A PROMISE TO CALIFORNIA HERE THE FRAILEST LEAVES OF ME NO LABOR-SAVING MACHINE A GLIMPSE A LEAF FOR HAND IN HAND EARTH, MY LIKENESS I DREAM’D IN A DREAM WHAT THINK YOU I TAKE MY PEN IN HAND? TO THE EAST AND TO THE WEST SOMETIMES WITH ONE I LOVE TO A WESTERN BOY FAST-ANCHOR’D ETERNAL O LOVE! AMONG THE MULTITUDE O YOU WHOM I OFTEN AND SILENTLY COME THAT SHADOW MY LIKENESS FULL OF LIFE NOW SALUT AU MONDE! SONG OF THE OPEN ROAD CROSSING BROOKLYN FERRY SONG OF THE ANSWERER OUR OLD FEUILLAGE A SONG OF JOYS SONG OF THE BROAD-AXE SONG OF THE EXPOSITION SONG OF THE REDWOOD-TREE A SONG FOR OCCUPATIONS A SONG OF THE ROLLING EARTH YOUTH, DAY, OLD AGE AND NIGHT BIRDS OF PASSAGE SONG OF THE UNIVERSAL PIONEERS! O PIONEERS! TO YOU FRANCE, THE 18TH YEAR OF THESE STATES MYSELF AND MINE YEAR OF METEORS (1859-60) A BROADWAY PAGEANT SEA-DRIFT OUT OF THE CRADLE ENDLESSLY ROCKING AS I EBB’D WITH THE OCEAN OF LIFE TEARS TO THE MAN-OF-WAR-BIRD ABOARD AT A SHIP’S HELM ON THE BEACH AT NIGHT THE WORLD BELOW THE BRINE ON THE BEACH AT NIGHT ALONE SONG FOR ALL SEAS, ALL SHIPS PATROLING BARNEGAT AFTER THE SEA-SHIP BY THE ROADSIDE A BOSTON BALLAD (1854) EUROPE, THE 72D AND 73D YEARS OF THESE STATES A HAND-MIRROR GODS GERMS THOUGHTS WHEN I HEARD THE LEARN’D ASTRONOMER PERFECTIONS O ME! O LIFE! TO A PRESIDENT I SIT AND LOOK OUT TO RICH GIVERS THE DALLIANCE OF THE EAGLES ROAMING IN THOUGHT A FARM PICTURE A CHILD’S AMAZE THE RUNNER BEAUTIFUL WOMEN MOTHER AND BABE THOUGHT VISOR’D THOUGHT GLIDING O‘ER ALL HAST NEVER COME TO THEE AN HOUR THOUGHT TO OLD AGE LOCATIONS AND TIMES OFFERINGS TO THE STATES, TO IDENTIFY THE 16TH, 17TH, OR 18TH PRESIDENTIAD DRUM-TAPS FIRST O SONGS FOR A PRELUDE EIGHTEEN SIXTY-ONE BEAT! BEAT! DRUMS! FROM PAUMANOK STARTING I FLY LIKE A BIRD SONG OF THE BANNER AT DAYBREAK RISE O DAYS FROM YOUR FATHOMLESS DEEPS THE CENTENARIAN’S STORY CAVALRY CROSSING A FORD BIVOUAC ON A MOUNTAIN SIDE AN ARMY CORPS ON THE MARCH BY THE BIVOUAC’S FITFUL FLAME COME UP FROM THE FIELDS FATHER VIGIL STRANGE I KEPT ON THE FIELD ONE NIGHT A MARCH IN THE RANKS HARD-PREST, AND THE ROAD UNKNOWN A SIGHT IN CAMP IN THE DAYBREAK GRAY AND DIM AS TOILSOME I WANDER’D VIRGINIA’S WOODS NOT THE PILOT YEAR THAT TREMBLED AND REEL’D BENEATH ME THE WOUND-DRESSER LONG, TOO LONG AMERICA GIVE ME THE SPLENDID SILENT SUN OVER THE CARNAGE ROSE PROPHETIC A VOICE I SAW OLD GENERAL AT BAY THE ARTILLERYMAN’S VISION ETHIOPIA SALUTING THE COLORS NOT YOUTH PERTAINS TO ME RACE OF VETERANS WORLD TAKE GOOD NOTICE O TAN-FACED PRAIRIE-BOY LOOK DOWN FAIR MOON RECONCILIATION HOW SOLEMN AS ONE BY ONE AS I LAY WITH MY HEAD IN YOUR LAP CAMERADO DELICATE CLUSTER TO A CERTAIN CIVILIAN LO, VICTRESS ON THE PEAKS SPIRIT WHOSE WORK IS DONE ADIEU TO A SOLDIER TURN O LIBERTAD TO THE LEAVEN’D SOIL THEY TROD MEMORIES OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN WHEN LILACS LAST IN THE DOORYARD BLOOM‘D O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN! HUSH’D BE THE CAMPS TO-DAY THIS DUST WAS ONCE THE MAN BY BLUE ONTARIO’S SHORE REVERSALS AUTUMN RIVULETS AS CONSEQUENT, ETC THE RETURN OF THE HEROES THERE WAS A CHILD WENT FORTH OLD IRELAND THE CITY DEAD-HOUSE THIS COMPOST TO A FOIL’D EUROPEAN REVOLUTIONAIRE UNNAMED LANDS SONG OF PRUDENCE THE SINGER IN THE PRISON WARBLE FOR LILAC-TIME OUTLINES FOR A TOMB OUT FROM BEHIND THIS MASK VOCALISM TO HIM THAT WAS CRUCIFIED YOU FELONS ON TRIAL IN COURTS LAWS FOR CREATIONS TO A COMMON PROSTITUTE I WAS LOOKING A LONG WHILE THOUGHT MIRACLES SPARKLES FROM THE WHEEL TO A PUPIL UNFOLDED OUT OF THE FOLDS WHAT AM I AFTER ALL KOSMOS OTHERS MAY PRAISE WHAT THEY LIKE WHO LEARNS MY LESSON COMPLETE? TESTS THE TORCH O STAR OF FRANCE (1870-71) THE OX-TAMER AN OLD MAN’S THOUGHT OF SCHOOL WANDERING AT MORN ITALIAN MUSIC IN DAKOTA WITH ALL THY GIFTS MY PICTURE-GALLERY THE PRAIRIE STATES PROUD MUSIC OF THE STORM PASSAGE TO INDIA PRAYER OF COLUMBUS THE SLEEPERS TRANSPOSITIONS TO THINK OF TIM WHISPERS OF HEAVENLY DEATH DAREST THOU NOW O SOUL WHISPERS OF HEAVENLY DEATH CHANTING THE SQUARE DEIFIC OF HIM I LOVE DAY AND NIGHT YET, YET, YE DOWNCAST HOURS AS IF A PHANTOM CARESS’D ME ASSURANCES QUICKSAND YEARS THAT MUSIC ALWAYS ROUND ME WHAT SHIP PUZZLED AT SEA A NOISELESS PATIENT SPIDER O LIVING ALWAYS, ALWAYS DYING TO ONE SHORTLY TO DIE NIGHT ON THE PRAIRIES THOUGHT THE LAST INVOCATION AS I WATCH’D THE PLOUGHMAN PLOUGHING PENSIVE AND FALTERING THOU MOTHER WITH THY EQUAL BROOD A PAUMANOK PICTURE FROM NOON TO STARRY NIGHT THOU ORB ALOFT FULL-DAZZLING FACES THE MYSTIC TRUMPETER TO A LOCOMOTIVE IN WINTER O MAGNET-SOUTH MANNAHATTA ALL IS TRUTH A RIDDLE SONG EXCELSIOR AH POVERTIES, WINCINGS, AND SULKY RETREATS THOUGHTS MEDIUMS WEAVE IN, MY HARDY LIFE SPAIN, 1873-74 BY BROAD POTOMAC’S SHORE FROM FAR DAKOTA’S CAÑONS OLD WAR-DREAMS THICK-SPRINKLED BUNTING WHAT BEST I SEE IN THEE SPIRIT THAT FORM’D THIS SCENE AS I WALK THESE BROAD MAJESTIC DAYS A CLEAR MIDNIGHT SONGS OF PARTING AS THE TIME DRAWS NIGH YEARS OF THE MODERN ASHES OF SOLDIERS THOUGHTS SONG AT SUNSET AS AT THY PORTALS ALSO DEATH MY LEGACY PENSIVE ON HER DEAD GAZING CAMPS OF GREEN THE SOBBING OF THE BELLS AS THEY DRAW TO A CLOSE JOY, SHIPMATE, JOY! THE UNTOLD WANT PORTALS THESE CAROLS NOW FINALE TO THE SHORE SO LONG! FIRST ANNEX - SANDS AT SEVENTY MANNAHATTA PAUMANOK FROM MONTAUK POINT TO THOSE WHO’VE FAIL’D A CAROL CLOSING SIXTY-NINE THE BRAVEST SOLDIERS A FONT OF TYPE AS I SIT WRITING HERE MY CANARY BIRD QUERIES TO MY SEVENTIETH YEAR Spontaneous Me Spontaneous me, Nature Starting from fish-shape Paumanok where I was born Starting from Paumanok States! Steaming the northern rapids—(an old St Lawrence reminiscence) Still Though the One I Sing Stranger, if you passing meet me and desire to speak to me, why should you not speak to me? Stronger Lessons Suddenly out of its stale and drowsy lair, the lair of slaves Suddenly out of its stale and drowsy lair, the lair of slaves Suddenly, out of its stale and drowsy lair, the lair of slaves Supplement Hours T Tears Tears! tears! tears! Tests Thanks in Old Age Thanks in old age—thanks ere I go That coursing on, whate‘er men’s speculations That Music Always Round Me That music always round me, unceasing, unbeginning, yet long I untadid not hear That Shadow My Likeness That shadow my likeness that goes to and fro seeking a livelihood, chattering, chaffering That which eludes this verse and any verse The appointed winners in a long-stretch’ d game; The bodies of men and women engirth me, and I engirth them The business man the acquirer vast The commonplace I sing; The devilish and the dark, the dying and diseas‘d The last sunbeam The mystery of mysteries, the crude and hurried ceaseless flame, spontaneous, bearing on itself The noble sire fallen on evil days The prairie-grass dividing, its special odor breathing The sobbing of the bells, the sudden death-news everywhere The soft voluptuous opiate shades The soothing sanity and blitheness of completion The touch of flame—the illuminating fire—the loftiest look at last The two old, simple problems ever intertwined The untold want by life and land ne‘er granted Thee for my recitative Then Last of All Then Last of All, caught from these shores, this hill Then Shall Perceive There are who teach only the sweet lessons of peace and safety; [There Was a Child Went Forth] There Was a Child Went Forth There was a child went forth every day There was a child went forth every day These Carols These carols sung to cheer my passage through the world I see These I Singing in Spring These I singing in spring collect for lovers They shall arise in the States Thick-sprinkled Bunting Thick sprinkled bunting! flag of stars! Think of the Soul This breast which now alternate burns This Compost This Day, O Soul This day, O Soul, I give you a wondrous mirror; This Dust Was Once the Man This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless This latent mine—these unlaunch’d voices—passionate powers This moment yearning and thoughtful sitting alone This Moment Yearning and Thoughtful Thither as I look I see each result and glory retracing itself and nestling close, always obligated Thou hast slept all night upon the storm Thou Mother with Thy Equal Brood Thou Orb Aloft Full-Dazzling Thou orb aloft full-dazzling! thou hot October noon! Thou reader throbbest life and pride and love the same as Thou Reader Thought Thought Thought Thought Thought Thought Thought of Columbus, A Thoughts Thoughts Thoughts Thoughts Thoughts Thoughts Thoughts, suggestions, aspirations, pictures Through the ample open door of the peaceful country barn Through the soft evening air enwinding all Time to Come To a Certain Cantatrice To a Certain Civilian To a Common Prostitute To a Foil’d European Revolutionaire To a Historian To a Locomotive in Winter To a President To a Pupil To a Stranger To a Western Boy To Be at All To be at all—what is better than that? To conclude, I announce what comes after me To Foreign Lands To get betimes in Boston town I rose this morning early To Get the Final Lilt of Songs To Him That Was Crucified To Old Age To One Shortly to Die To Rich Givers To Soar in Freedom and in Fullness of Power To the East and to the West To the Garden the World To the garden the world anew ascending To the Leaven’d Soil They Trod To the leaven’d soil they trod calling I sing for the last To the Man-of-War-Bird To the Pending Year To the Reader at Parting To the States To the States or any one of them, or any city of the States, Resist much, obey little To the States, To Identify the 16th, 17th, or 18th Presidentiad To the Sun-set Breeze To Thee Old Cause [To Think of Time] To Think of Time To think of time—of all that retrospection To think of Time to think through the retrospection To Those Who’ve Fail‘d To those who’ve fail‘d, in aspiration vast To You To You To You To-day a rude brief recitative To-day and Thee To-day, from each and all, a breath of prayer—a pulse of thought To-day, with bending head and eyes, thou, too, Columbia Torch, The Transpositions Trickle Drops Trickle drops! My blue veins leaving! True Conquerors Turn O Libertad Turn O libertad, for the war is over Twenty Years Twilight Twilight Song, A Two Rivulets Two Rivulets side by side U Unexpress‘d, The Unfolded Out of the Folds Unfolded out of the folds of the woman man comes unfolded, and is always to come unfolded Unnamed Lands United States to Old World Critics, The Unseen Buds Unseen buds, infinite, hidden well Untold Want, The Upon the ocean’s wave-worn shore Upon this scene, this show V Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night Virginia-The West Visor‘d Vocalism Vocalism, measure, concentration, determination, and the divine power to speak words Voice from Death, A Voice of the Rain, The W Wallabout Martyrs, The Wandering at Morn Warble for Lilac-Time Warble me now for joy of lilac-time, (returning in reminiscence,) Washington’s Monument, February 1885 We All Shall Rest at Last We are all docile dough-faces We Two Boys Together Clinging We Two, How Long We Were Fool’d Weapon shapely, naked, wan Weave In, My Hardy Life Weave in, weave in, my hardy life Welcome, Brazilian brother—thy ample place is ready; What a fair and happy place What Am I After All What am I after all but a child, pleas’d with the sound of my own name? repeating it over and over What are those of the known but to ascend and enter the Unknown? What Best I See in Thee What General has a good army in himself, has a good army: What hurrying human tides, or day or night! What may we chant, O thou within this tomb? What Place Is Besieged? What place is besieged, and vainly tries to raise the siege? What Ship Puzzled at Sea What ship puzzled at sea, cons for the true reckoning? What Think You I Take My Pen in Hand? What you give me I cheerfully accept When his hour for death had come When I Heard at the Close of the Day When I heard at the close of the day how my name had been receiv’d with plaudits in the capitol, still it was not a happy night for me that follow‘d When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer When I Peruse the Conquer’d Fame When I peruse the conquer’d fame of heroes and the victories of mighty generals, I not envy the generals When I Read the Book When I read the book, the biography famous When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom‘d When old Grimes died, he left a son When painfully athwart my brain When the Full-Grown Poet Came When, staunchly entering port Where the city’s ceaseless crowd moves on the livelong day While Behind All Firm and Erect While behind all, firm and erect as ever While my wife at my side lies slumbering, and the wars are over long While Not the Past Forgetting Whispers of heavenly death murmur‘d I hear WHISPERS OF HEAVENLY DEATH Whispers of Heavenly Death Who are you dusky woman, so ancient hardly human Who has gone farthest? for I would go farther Who includes diversity and is Nature Who is reading this? [Who Learns My Lesson Complete] Who Learns My Lesson Complete? Whoever You Are Holding Me Now in Hand Whoever you are, I fear you are walking the walks of dreams Why reclining, interrogating? why myself and all drowsing? Why, who makes much of a miracle? Wild, wild the storm, and the sea high running With All Thy Gifts With all thy gifts America With Antecedents With Husky-Haughty Lips, O Sea! With its cloud of skirmishers in advance Woman Waits for Me, A Women sit or move to and fro, some old, some young Word over all, beautiful as the sky World Below the Brine, The World Take Good Notice World take good notice, silver stars fading Wound-Dresser, The Y Year of Meteors (1859-60) Year of meteors! brooding year! Year That Trembled and Reel’d Beneath Me Years of the Modern Years of the modern! years of the unperform‘d! Yet, Yet, Ye Downcast Hours Yet, yet, ye downcast hours, I know ye also Yonnondio You Felons on Trial in Courts You just maturing youth! You male or female! You lingering sparse leaves of me on winter-nearing boughs You Lingering Sparse Leaves of Me You Tides with Ceaseless Swell You tides with ceaseless swell! you power that does this work! You who celebrate bygones Young Grimes Youth, Day, Old Age and Night Youth, large, lusty, loving—youth full of grace, force, fascination a Titles of First Edition poems are presented in brackets Whitman did not title the twelve poems in the First Edition but gave them titles as he included them in subsequent editions (see “Publication Information”) b In Whitman’s time, New York City was divided into sections called wards; the “Bloody Sixth” ward was the most infamous c Whitman lists different types of people, from Kanucks (French Canadians) to Tuckahoes (coastal Virginians) to congressmen to Cuffs (African day-name for a male born on a Friday) d Possibly a reference to Whitman’s brother Jeff, who was mentally ill and confined to an asylum e Nicknames for people from Indiana, Wisconsin, and Ohio f Mouthpieces of wind instruments; also, in the singular, the shape the mouth makes when blowing The term is derived from the French word of the same spelling that means “mouth” or “mouthpiece.” Whitman was fond of using foreign terminology (particularly French expressions) in his work—a seeming irony for this self-declared “American Adam” of poetry g That is, a curlicue; a writerly flourish h Friends; another example of Whitman’s fondness for French expressions i Tubercular swelling of the neck glands; an example of the poet’s interest in med icine and medical terminology, to be tested and expanded during his years as a Civil War nurse j Whitman is describing the making of an elixir, as an example of “positive sci ence”; stonecrop is a plant used in curative medicines k An ancient Egyptian ornamental figure, typically oval or oblong, that carries a design, inscription, or name; Whitman developed his knowledge of Egyptian culture during years of visiting the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities on Broadway l Inspiration m That is, the male genitals; the coulter is the prong that directs a plow into the turf In this section, Whitman mixes references to farming and nature with descriptions of male genitals and sexuality n Cultivation o A clam; note in the next line Whitman’s segue from the clam shell to the “shell” of the human body p Ant q A camp, often temporary, out in the open r Another instance of Whitman’s use of French, this time the word for “pupil.” s Reference to African witchcraft practiced in the New World t Member of an ascetic ancient Hindu sect; gymnosophists did not wear clothing and practiced meditation ‡Shastras (“shastas” is a misspelling) and Vedas are sacred Hindu texts; the Koran is the holy book of Muslims §Aztec temples u Slang for a native of Sumatra v Midwife (French); two lines below, “exquisite flexible doors” have been interpreted to mean the vaginal canal See also the poem “Unfolded Out of the Folds” (p 533) w Whitman takes liberties with spellings in this passage: Esquimaux is his plural of “Eskimo”; Bedowee designates “Bedouin”; and tabounschik is a slang term for Middle Eastern nomads x Masturbators (from the biblical tale of Onan in Genesis 38) y Plural of “sweetness” (French) z Hiding place aa Victim of a skin disease called erysipelas ab Common name for an African-American laborer ac Nickname for a Yankee or New Englander ad Titles of First Edition poems are presented in brackets Whitman did not title the twelve poems in the First Edition but gave them titles as he included them in subsequent editions (see “Publication Information”) ae Like English poet William Blake (1757-1827), Whitman often made up words and spellings “Habitan” is his variant of “inhabitant”; he also personalized the spelling of the Alleghenies, America’s oldest mountain range af Images (Greek); as Whitman explains in his manuscript “Notebook on Words” (lo cated in the Feinberg Collection at the New York Public Library): “Ei-dó-lon (Gr) phantom—the image of a Helen of Troy instead of a real flesh and blood woman.” ag The title, which looks like Latin but isn‘t, is another example of Whitman’s indi vidualized use of language The meaning is “I am imperturbable.” ah Algonquian name for Manhattan Island Whitman’s favorite brother, Thomas Jef ferson Whitman, named his daughter Manahatta [sic]; she was born in 1860, the same year “Me Imperturbe” was first included in Leaves of Grass ‡Whitman’s term for the gifted vision of a seer-prophet “Paumanok” is the Algonquian name for Long Island, where Whitman indeed got his start: He was born in Huntington, Suffolk County, and his birthplace is now a state historic site aj Quaker designation for May Whitman was proud of his family’s Quaker ties; he wrote essays on Quakers Elias Hicks and George Fox for his prose miscellany November Boughs (1888) ak Musical terms, from the Italian, for “sweet” and “sentimental, affected person.” al That is, one who waits am Siberian seaport; more commonly spelled Okhotsk an Slave caravan ao In the previous four lines, the poet tours mountain ranges in China, Siberia, India, Austria, Italy, and Iceland ap The poet “sees” Druids at the groves of Mona, an ancient sacred site in Anglesey, an island off the coast of northwestern Wales; the plants mistletoe and vervain are associated with practices of the Druids aq Depending upon the time of year, the poet is looking on a late-afternoon or an early-evening sky—in other words, he is returning home to Brooklyn after a day’s labor in Manhattan The poem’s original title was “Sun-down Poem,” and Whitman sets this scene by placing the sun “there”—that is, in the west—“half an hour high.” ar The poet sees his reflection illuminated by the sun behind him, causing the “halo effect” described here as The French word for “foliage”—yet another reference to “leaves.” at Ancient name for Egypt au Minor Roman officials who cleared the way for chief magistrates av The structural supports (keelsons) of this ship are built from one of Whitman’s most significant plant types, the live oak (see endnote 23 to the “Calamus” cluster) The supports that bear strain (the knees) are made from the tamarack or American larch tree aw New York City’s Crystal Palace, a wonder itself and an exhibition area for the latest discoveries and inventions; it opened in 1853 and was destroyed by fire in 1858 ax The nine Muses, ancient sister goddesses who were guiding spirits for an array of arts and sciences ay Dryads and hamadryads are wood nymphs—in this case, the voices of the redwood trees of the title az A rubber-like gum ba Give birth! (French) bb “Whitman’s misused French, meaning ”emerge.“ bc The mother, or “ma femme” (French for “my wife”) of the last lines, is Democracy personified; the newborn infant is liberated France bd Abraham Lincoln ran against Stephen Douglas and became the sixteenth president of the United States; Whitman refers here to the nineteenth term of the presidency be Abolitionist John Brown was for treason in Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia), on December 2, 1859 bf Edward, prince of Wales, visited New York City on October 11, 1860 †The British steamship The Great Eastern made her first transatlantic crossing to New York in 1860 bg Opposites bh Smooth, lyrical, flowing, song-like piece; the word is more commonly used as an adjective bi As in “Year of Meteors,” Whitman refers to the visit of Edward, prince of Wales, to New York in 1860 bj Quaker designation for September, but perhaps also an allusion to the culmina tion of a pregnancy bk Native American term for Long Island, the fish-shaped island where Whitman was born The poet later designates Paumanok as his male progenitor, and the sea around it as his “mother.” bl Brittle; easily crumbled; fragile bm Barnegat is the name of a bay on the coast of New Jersey, east of Whitman’s last home in Camden bn The “16th, 17th, or 18th Presidentiad” refers to the terms of Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan (see endnote to the First Edition) bo The poem’s title was originally set in numerals (“1861”) Whitman often recalled hearing about the attack at Fort Sumter after attending a performance at New York’s Academy of Music on April 13, 1861 bp A “bivouac” is a temporary encampment, often in the open bq Clarify (French) br The mossbonker (also spelled mossbunker), or menhaden, is fish indigenous to the Long Island waters Whitman describes bs Slang expression used by the likes of sailors and prostitutes, “so long” signifies not only “good-bye,” but “‘til we meet again.” bt Navesink—a sea-side mountain, lower entrance of New York Bay [Whitman’s note] bu The two songs on this page are eked out during an afternoon, June, 1888, in my seventieth year, at a critical spell of illness Of course no reader and probably no human being at any time will ever have such phases of emotional and solemn ac tion as these involve to me I feel in them an end and close of all [Whitman’s note] bv Behind a Good-bye there lurks much of the salutation of another beginning—to me, Development, Continuity, Immortality, Transformation, are the chiefest life- meanings of Nature and Humanity, and are the sine qua non of all facts, and each fact Why folks dwell so fondly on the last words, advice, appearance, of the de parting? Those last words are not samples of the best, which involve vitality at its full, and balance, and perfect control and scope But they are valuable beyond measure to confirm and endorse the varied train, facts, theories and faith of the whole preceding life [Whitman’s note] bw ‘NOTE.—Summer country life.—Several years.—In my rambles and explorations I found a woody place near the creek, where for some reason the birds in happy mood seem’d to resort in unusual numbers Especially at the beginning of the day, and again at the ending, I was sure to get there the most copious bird-concerts I repair’ d there frequently at sunrise—and also at sunset, or just before Once the question arose in me: Which is the best singing, the first or the lattermost? The first always exhilarated, and perhaps seem’d more joyous and stronger; but I always felt the sunset or late afternoon sounds more penetrating and sweeter—seem’d to touch the soul—often the evening thrushes, two or three of them, responding and perhaps blending Though I miss’d some of the mornings, I found myself getting to be quite strictly punctual at the evening utterances ANOTHER NOTE.—“He went out with the tide and the sunset,” was a phrase I heard from a surgeon describing an old sailor’s death under peculiarly gentle conditions During the Secession War, 1863 and ‘4, visiting the Army Hospitals around Washington, I form’d the habit, and continued it to the end, whenever the ebb or flood tide began the latter part of day, of punctually visiting those at that time populous wards of suffering men Somehow (or I thought so) the effect of the hour was palpable The badly wounded would get some ease, and would like to talk a little, or be talk’d to Intellectual and emotional natures would be at their best: Deaths were always easier; medicines seem’d to have better effect when given then, and a lulling atmosphere would pervade the wards Similar influences, similar circumstances and hours, day-close, after great battles, even with all their horrors I had more than once the same experience on the fields cover’d with fallen or dead [Whitman’s notes] bx NOTE.-CAMDEN, N J., August 7, 1888.-Walt Whitman asks the New York Herald “to add his tribute to Sheridan:” “In the grand constellation of five or six names, under Lincoln’s Presidency, that history will bear for ages in her firmament as marking the last life-throbs of seces sion, and beaming on its dying gasps, Sheridan’s will be bright One consideration rising out of the now dead soldier’s example as it passes my mind, is worth taking notice of If the war had continued any long time these States, in my opinion, would have shown and proved the most conclusive military talents ever evinced by any nation on earth That they possess’d a rank and file ahead of all other known in points of quality and limitlessness of number are easily admitted But we have, too, the eligibility of organizing, handling and officering equal to the other These two, with modern arms, transportation, and inventive American genius, would make the United States, with earnestness, not only able to stand the whole world, but conquer that world united against us” [Whitman’s note] by When Champollion, on his death-bed, handed to the printer the revised proof of his “Egyptian Grammar,” he said gayly, “Be careful of this—it is my carte de visite to posterity” [Whitman’s note] bz The ferment and germination even of the United States to-day, dating back to, and in my opinion mainly founded on, the Elizabethan age in English history, the age of Francis Bacon and Shakspere Indeed, when we pursue it, what growth or advent is there that does not date back, back, until lost— perhaps its most tantalizing clues lost—in the receded horizons of the past? [Whitman’s note] ca According to Immanuel Kant, the last essential reality, giving shape and significance to all the rest [Whitman’s note] cb Sir Walter Scott’s COMPLETE POEMS; especially including BORDER MINSTRELSY; then Sir Tristem; Lay of the Last Minstrel; Ballads from the German; Marmion; Lady of the Lake; Vision of Don Roderick; Lord of the Isles; Rokeby, Bridal of Triermain; Field of Waterloo; Harold the Dauntless; all the Dramas; various Introductions, endless interesting Notes, and Essays on Poetry, Romance, &c Lockhart’s 1833 (Or‘34) edition with Scott’s latest and copious revisions and annotations (All the poems were thoroughly read by me, but the ballads of the Border Minstrelsy over and over again [Whitman’s note].) cc Nineteenth Century,“ July, 1883 [Whitman’s note] ...Table of Contents FROM THE PAGES OF LEAVES OF GRASS Title Page Copyright Page WALT WHITMAN THE WORLD OF WALT WHITMAN AND LEAVES OF GRASS Introduction Leaves of Grass - Brooklyn, New... INSPIRED BY LEAVES OF GRASS COMMENTS & QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING INDEX OF TITLES AND FIRST LINES FROM THE PAGES OF LEAVES OF GRASS I am the poet of the body, And I am the poet of the soul... new editions of Leaves of Grass, and receiving visitors Just ten days after writing his last poem, “A Thought of Columbus,” Walt Whitman died on March 26, 1892 THE WORLD OF WALT WHITMAN AND LEAVES