Section 2

bards ? nd that ts the theme of War, the fortune of battles, 10
The making of perfect soldiers ? 2
3e¢ if so, then I answer’d, 4 too, haughty Shade, also sing war—and a longer and greater one than any,
(11)
°
12 LEAVES OF GRASS
Waged in my book with varying fortune—with flight, advance, and retreat—Victory deferr d and wavering,
(Yet, methinks, certain, or as good as certain, at the last, )\— The field the world ;
For life and death—for the Body, and for the eternal Soul,
Lo! I too am come, chanting the chant of battles,
L, above all, promote brave soldiers.
& IN CABIN’D SHIPS AT SEA.
’ First published in 1870,
I
In cabin’d ships, at sea,
The boundless blue on every side expanding,
With whistling winds and music of the waves—the large imperi- ous waves—lIn such,
Or some lone bark, buoy’d on the dense marine,
Where, joyous, full of faith, spreading white sails,
She cleaves the ether, mid the sparkle and the foam of day, or under many a star at night,
By sailors young and old, haply will I, a reminiscence of the land, be read, .
In full rapport at last.
2
Tere are our thoughts—voyagers thoughts, Here not the land, firm land, alone appears, may then by them
be said ; Io The sky o erarches here—we feel the undulating deck beneath our feet,
We feel the long pulsation—ebb and flow of endless motion ;
The tones of unseen mystery—the vague and vast suggestions of the briny world—the liquid-flowing syllables,
Lhe perfume, the faint creaking of the cordage, the melancholy rhythm,
The boundless vista, and the horizon far and dim, are all here,
And this ts Ocean's poem.
3 Then falter not, O book ! fulfil your destiny ! You, not a reminiscence of the land alone, You too, as a lone bark, cleaving the ether—purpos’d I know’ not whither—yet ever full of faith, 20°
INSCRIPTIONS 13
Consort to every ship that sails—sail you !
Bear forth to them, folded, my love—(Dear mariners! for you I fold it here, in every leaf ;)
Speed on, my Book! spread your white sails, my little bark, athwart the imperious waves !
Chant on—sail on—bear o’er the boundless blue, from me, to every shore,
This song for mariners and all their ships.
& TO FOREIGN LANDS.
First published in 1860. In that and 1867 under title of ‘‘To Other Lands.”’
I HEARD that you ask’d for something to prove this puzzle, the New World,'
And to define America, her athletic Democracy ;?
Therefore I send you my poems, that you behold in them what you wanted.
& TO A HISTORIAN.
First published in 1860 as No. ro—‘‘ Chants Democratic.’’ See Note.
You who celebrate bygones ! Who have explored the outward, the surfaces of the races—the life that has exhibited itself ;
1 1860 ’67 read ‘‘I hear you have been asking for something to represent the new race, our self-poised Democracy.”’ -2 Line 2. Added in 1870. 3 1860 reads: ‘‘ HISTORIAN! you who celebrate bygones ! You have explored the outward, the surface of the races—the life that has exhibited itself, You have treated man as the creature of politics, aggregates, rulers, and priests ; But now I also, arriving, contribute something ; I, an habitué of the Alleghanies, treat man as he is in theinfluences of Nature, in himself, in his own inalienable rights, Advancing, to give the spirit and the traits of new Democratic ages, myself, personally, { : (Let the future behold them all in me—Me, so puzzling and contradictory— Me, a Manhattanese, the most loving and arrogant of men ; ) I do not tell the usual facts, proved by records and documents, What I tell, (talking to every born American,) requires no further proof than he or she who will hear me, will furnish, by silently meditating alone ; I press the pulse of the life that has hitherto seldom exhibited itself, but has generally sought concealment, (the great pride of man, in himself, ) I illuminate feelings, faults, yearnings, hopes—I have come at last, no more ashamed nor afraid ; Chanter of Personality, outlining a history yet to be, I project the ideal man, the American of the future.’’
=f
14 LEAVES OF GRASS
Who have treated of man as the creature of politics, aggregates, rulers and priests ;
I, habitan' of the Alleghanies, treating of him as he is in him- self, in his own rights,
Pressing the pulse of the life that has seldom exhibited rset (the great pride of man in himself ;)
Chanter of Personality, outlining what is yet to be,
I project the history of the future.
& FOR HIM I SING.
‘ First published in 1870. popu I sing, I raise the Present on the Past, (As some perennial tree, out of its roots, the present on the past :) With time and space I him dilate—and fuse the immortal laws, To make himself, by them, the law unto himself.
& WHEN I READ THE BOOK.
First published in 1867.
WHEN I read the book, the biography famous,
And is this, then, (said I,) what the author calls a man’s life?
And so will some one, when I am dead and gone, write my life ?
(As if any man really knew aught of my life ;?
Why, even I myself, I often think, know little or nothing of my real life ;
Only a few hints—a few diffused, faint clues and indirections,
I seek, for my own use, to trace out here.)
&
BEGINNING MY STUDIES, First published in “‘ Drum Taps,”’ 1865. BEGINNING my studies, the first step pleas’d me so much, The mere fact, consciousness—these forms—the power of motion, The least insect or animal—the senses—eyesight—love ;°
1 Songs Before Parting reads ‘‘ habitué.”? 2 1867 reads ‘‘ (As if any man really knew aught of my life;
Asif you, O cunning Soul, did not keep your secret well ! Me 3
STARTING FROM PAUMANOK 15
The first step, I say, aw’d me and pleas’d me so much, I have hardly gone, and hardly wish’d to go, any farther,! But stop and loiter all the time, to sing it in extatic songs.
& TO THEE, OLD CAUSE!
First published in 1870, To thee, old Cause ! Thou peerless, passionate, good cause ! Thou stern, remorseless, sweet Idea ! Deathless throughout the ages, races, lands! After a strange, sad war—great war for thee, (1 think.all war through time was really fought, and ever will be’ really fought, for thee ;) These chants for thee—the eternal march of thee.
Thou orb of many orbs!
Thou seething principle! Thou well-kept, latent germ! Thou centre !
Around the idea of thee the strange sad war revolving, Io
With all its angry and vehement play of causes,
(With yet unknown results to come, for thrice a thousand years, )
These recitatives for thee—my Book and the War are one,
Merged in its spirit I and mine—as the contest hinged on thee,
As a wheel on its axis turns, this Book, unwitting to itself,
Around the Idea of thee,
STARTING FROM PAUMANOK.?
First published in 1860 under title of ‘‘ Proto-Leaf.” See note.
I
STARTING from fish-shape Paumanok, where I was born, Well-begotten, and rais’d by a perfect mother ; After roaming many lands—lover of populous pavements ;
1 Drum Taps read :
“‘T have never gone, and never wish’d to go, any farther,
But stop and loiter all my life, to sing it in extatic songs.”’
2 1860. Proto-Leaf first stanza reads : ‘* FREE, fresh, savage, Fluent, luxuriant, self-content, fond of persons and places, Fond of fish-shape Paumanok, where I was born, Fond of the sea—lusty-begotten and various,
16 LEAVES OF GRASS
Dweller in Mannahatta,’! my city—or on southern savannas ;
Ora soldier camp’d, or carrying my knapsack and gun—or a miner in California ;
Or rude in my home in Dakota’s woods, my diet meat, my drink from the spring ;
Or withdrawn to muse and meditate in some deep recess,
Far from the clank of crowds, intervals passing, rapt and happy ; :
Aware of the fresh free giver, the flowing Missouri—aware of mighty Niagara ;
Aware of the buffalo herds, grazing the plains—the hirsute and strong-breasted bull ; 10
Of earth,? rocks, Fifth-month. flowers, experienced—stars, rain, ° snow, my amaze ;
Having studied the mocking-bird’s tones, and the mountain- hawk’s,
And heard at dusk the unrival’d one, the hermit thrush from the swamp-cedars,
Solitary, singing in the West, I strike up for a New World.
2
Victory, union, faith, identity, time,® The indissoluble compacts, riches, mystery, Eternal progress, the kosmos, and the modern reports.
This, then, is life ; Here is what has come to the surface after so many throes and éonvulsions.
Boy of the Mannahatta, the city of ships, my city,
Or raised inland, or of the south savannas,
Or full-breath’d on Californian air, or Texan or Cuban air,
Tallying, vocalizing all—resounding Niagara—resounding Missouri,
Or rude in my home in Kanuck woods,
Or wandering and hunting, my drink water, my diet meat,
Or withdrawn to muse and meditate in some deep recess,
Far from the clank of crowds, an interval passing, rapt and happy,
Stars, vapor, snow, the hills, rocks, the Fifth Month flowers, my amaze, my
love,
Aware of the buffalo, the peace-herds, the bull, strong-breasted and hairy,
Aware of the mocking-bird of the wilds at daybreak,
Solitary, singing in the west, I strike up for a new world.”
1 1867 reads ‘‘ city of ships my city—”
2 1867. For “ earth’’ reads “ earths.”’
* 1860 adds ‘ the Soul, your-self, the present and future lands.’’ 1867 adds ‘Yourself, the present and future lands.”
STARTING FROM PAUMANOK 17
How curious! how real ! 20 Underfoot the divine soil—overhead the sun.
See, revolving,’ the globe ;
The ancestor-continents, away, group’d together ;
The present and future continents, north and south, with the isthmus between.
See, vast, trackless spaces ;
As in a dream, they change, they swiftly fill ;
Countless masses debouch upon them ;
They are now cover’d with the foremost people, arts, institutions, known.
See, projected, through time, _For me, an audience interminable. 30
With firm and regular step they wend—they never stop, Successions of men, Americanos, a hundred millions ;
One generation playing its part, and passing on ;
Another generation playing its part, and passing on in its turn, With faces turn’d sideways or backward towards me, to listen, With eyes retrospective towards me,
3
Americanos ! conquerors !? marches humanitarian ; Foremost! century marches! Libertad ! masses ! For you a programme of chants.
Chants of the prairies ;° 40
1 1860. ‘* The globe’’ begins line 23. 27860. For ‘ conquerors!’’ read ‘‘ Masters !’’ 3 1860. For lines 40-44 reads: “‘ Chants of the long-running Mississippi, Chants of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, lowa, and Minnesota, Inland chants—chants of Kanzas, Chants away down to Mexico, and up north to Oregon—K anadian chants, Chants of teeming and turbulent cities—chants of mechanics, Yankee chants—Pennsylvanian chants—chants of Kentucky and Tennessee, Chants of dim-lit mines—chants of mountain-tops, Chants of sailors—chants of the Eastern Sea and the Western Sea, Chants of the Mannahatta, the place of my dearest love, the place surrounded by hurried and sparkling currents, Health chants—joy chants—robust chants of young men, Chants inclusive—wide reverberating chants, Chants of the Many In One,”’ 2
18 LEAVES OF GRASS
Chants of the long-running Mississippi, and down to the Mexi- can sea ;
Chants of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minne- sota ;
Chants going forth from the centre, from Kansas, and thence, equi-distant,
Shooting in pulses of fire, ceaseless, to vivify all.
oe
In the Year 80 of The States,
My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this air,
Born here of parents born here,’ from parents the same, and their parents the same,
I, now thirty-six years old, in perfect health, begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.
Creeds and schools in abeyance, 50 (Retiring back a while, sufficed at what they are, but never for- gotten, )?
I harbor, for good or bad—I permit to speak, at every hazard, Nature now without check, with original energy.
5
Take my leaves, America !* take them, South, and take them, North!
Make welcome for them everywhere, for they are your own eaff- spring ;
Surround them, East and West! for they would surround you ;
And you precedents! connect lovingly with them, for they con- nect lovingly with you.
I conn’d old times ;
I sat studying at the feet of the great masters:
Now, if eligible, O that the great masters might return and study me ! 60
In the name of These States, shall I scorn the antique ? Why These are the children of the antique, to justify it.
1 1860. ‘‘From’’ begins new line.
2 1860. After line 51 reads “* With accumulations, now coming forward in front, arrived again, I harbor, for good or bad—I permit to speak.”’
* “take them, South, and take them, North!’ added in 1867.
STARTING FROM PAUMANOK 19
6
Dead poets, philosophs, priests,
Martyrs, artists, inventors, governments long since,
Language- shapers, on other shores,
Nations once powerful, now reduced, withdrawn, or desolate,
I dare not proceed till I respectfully credit what you have left, wafted hither :
I have perused it'\—own it is admirable, (moving awhile among its
Think’ nothing can ever be greater—nothing can ever deserve more than it deserves ;
Regarding it all intently a long while*—then dismissing it, 70
I stand in my place, with my own day, here.
Here lands female and male ;
Here the heir-ship and heiress-ship of uae world—here the flame of materials ;
Here Spirituality, the translatress, the openly-avow’d,
The ever-tending, the finale of visible forms ;
The satisfier, after due long-waiting, now advancing,
Yes, here comes my mistress, the Soul.
7 The Sout: Forever and forever—longer than soil is brown and solid—longer than water ebbs and flows.
I will make the poems of materials, for I think they are to be the most spiritual poems ; 80
And I will make the poems of my body and of mortality,
For I think I shall then supply myself with the poems of my Soul, and of immortality.
I will make a song for These States, that no one State may under any circumstances be subjected to another State ;
And I will make a song that there shall be comity by day and by night between all The States, and between any two of them :*
1 1860 reads ‘‘I own,”’ etc. (moving awhile among it ;) added in 1867.
2 1860 reads “I think,”’ etc. 3 1860 reads “I regard it all intently a long while, Then take my place
for good with my own day and race here.’ 4 1860. After line 85 reads ‘‘ And I will make a song of the organic bargains
of These States—And a shrill song of curses on him who would dissever the Union,”’
20 LEAVES OF GRASS
And I will make a song for the ears of the President, full of weapons with menacing points,
And behind the weapons countless dissatisfied faces :
—And a song make I, of the One form’d out of all ;
The fang’d and glittering One whose head is over all ;*
Resolute, warlike One, including and over all ;
(However high the head of any else, that head is over all.) 90
I will acknowledge contemporary lands ;
I will trail the whole geography of the globe, and salute cour- teously every city large and small ;
And employments! I will put in my poems, that with you is heroism, upon land and sea ;
And I will report all heroism from an American point of view.”
I will sing the song of companionship ;.
I will show what alone must finally compact These ;
I believe These are to found their own ideal of manly love, in- dicating it in me;
I will therefore let flame from me the burning fires that were threatening to consume me ;
I will lift what has too long kept down those smouldering fires ;
I will give them complete abandonment ; 100
I will write the evangel-poem of comrades, and of love ;
(For who but I should understand love, with all its sorrow and joy?
And who but I should be the poet of comrades ?)
8
IT am the credulous man of qualities, ages, races ; Tadvance from the people® in their own spirit ; Here is what sings unrestricted faith.
Omnes ! Omnes! let others ignore what they may ;
I make the poem of evil also—I commemorate that part also ;
Iam myself just as much evil as good,‘ and my nation is—And I say there is in fact no evil ;
(Or if there is, I say it is just as important to you, to the land,° or to me, as anything else. ) IIo
Lines 88-90 added in 1867.
1860 ’67. After line 94 read line 179 this edition. 186067. After ‘‘people’’ read ‘ en-masse.?’ ‘“and my nation is’’ added in 1867.
1860. For ‘‘land”’ reads * earth.’?
ore Ne
STARTING FROM PAUMANOK 2
I too, following many, and follow’d by many inaugurate a Re- ligion—I descend into the arena ;
(It may be I am destin’d to ss the loudest cries there,” the winner’s pealing shouts ;*
Who knows ?* they may rise from me yet, and soar above every thing. )
Each is not for its own sake ; I say the whole earth, and all the stars in the es are for Re- ligion’s sake.
I say no man has ever yet been half devout enough ;
None has ever yet adored or worship’d half enough ;
None has begun to think how divine he himself is, and how cer- tain the future is.