Section 35

5d
YEARS OF THE MODERN.
,
First published in ‘‘ Drum-Taps,”’ 1865, under title of ‘‘ Years of the Unperformed ”
Years of the modern !? years of the unperform’d !
Your horizon rises—I see it parting away for more august dramas ;
I see not America only—I see not only Liberty’s nation, but other nations preparing ;
I see tremendous entrances and exits—I see new combinations —I see the solidarity of races ;
I see that force advancing with irresistible power on the world’s - stage ;
(Have the old forces, the old wars,’ played their parts? are the acts suitable to them closed ?)
I see Freedom, completely arm’d, and victorious, and very haughty, with Law on one side, and Peace on the other,‘
A stupendous Trio, all issuing forth against the idea of caste ;°
—What historic denouements are these we so rapidly approach?
I see men marching and countermarching by swift millions; 10
I see the frontiers and boundaries of the old aristocracies broken ;
I see the landmarks of European kings removed ;
I see this day the People beginning their landmarks, (all others give way ;)
—Never were such sharp questions ask’d as this day ;
Never was average man, his soul, more energetic, more like a
God ;
1 ¢¢awhile’’ added in 1870.
2 ¢¢Vears of the modern’’ added in 1870.
3
4 ¢¢and Peace on the other’’ added in 1870. 5 Drum-Taps reads ‘‘ Both issuing forth,’ etc.
336. LEAVES OF GRASS
Lo! how he urges and. urges, leaving the masses no rest ;
His daring foot is on land and sea everywhere—he colonizes the Pacific, the archipelagoes ;
With the steam-ship, the electric telegraph, the newspaper, the the wholesale engines of war,
With these, and the world-spreading factories, he interlinks all geography, all lands ;
—What whispers are these, O lands, running ahead of you, passing under the seas ? 20
Are all nations communing? is there going to be but one heart to the globe?
Is humanity forming, en-masse?—for lo! tyrants tremble, crowns grow dim ;
The earth, restive, confronts a new era, perhaps a general divine war ;
No one knows what will happen next—such portents fill the days and nights ;
Years prophetical! the space ahead as I walk, as I vainly try to pierce it, is full of phantoms ;
Unborn deeds, things soon to be, project their shapes around me ;
This incredible rush and heat—this strange extatic fever of dreams, O years !
Your dreams, O year, how they penetrate through me! (I know not whether I sleep or wake !)
The perform’d America and Europe grow dim, retiring in shadow behind me,
The unperform’d, more gigantic than ever, advance, advance upon me. 30
*
THOUGHTS. First published in 1860.
I
’Or these years I sing,
How they pass and have pass’d,” through convuls’d pains as through parturitions ;
How America illustrates birth, muscular youth, the promise, the sure fulfillment, the Absolute Success,* despite of people —TIllustrates evil as well as good ;
1 1860 begins poem ‘* A Thought of what I am here for.”’ 2 «¢and have pass’d’’ added in 1867. 3 ««The Absolute Success’? added in 1870.
SONGS OF PARTING So7
How many hold despairingly yet to the models departed, caste, myths, obedience, compulsion, and to infidelity ;
How few see the arrived models, the Athletes, the Western! States—or see freedom or spirituality—or hold any faith in results,
(But I see the Athletes—and I see the results of the war’ glorious and inevitable—and they again leading to other results ; )
How the great cities appear—How the Democratic masses, tur- bulent, wilful, as I love them ;
How the whirl, the contest, the wrestle of evil with good, the sounding and resounding, keep on and on;
How society waits unform’d, and is for awhile between things ended and things begun ;
How America is the continent of glories, and of the triumph of freedom, and of the Democracies, and of the fruits of society, and of all that is begun ; ie)
And how The States are complete in themselves—And _ how all triumphs and glories are complete in themselves, to lead onward,
And how these of mine, and of The States, will in their turn be convuls’d, and serve other parturitions and transitions,
And how all people, sights, combinations, the Democratic masses, too, serve—and how every fact, and war itself, with all its horrors,® serves,
And how now, or at any time, each serves the exquisite transition of death.
2
First published in 1860 as ‘‘ Chants Democratic.”
‘Or seeds dropping into the ground—of birth,
Of the steady concentration of America, inland, upward, to im- pregnable and swarming places,
Of what Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and the rest, are to be,
Of what a few years will show there in Nebraska, Colorado, Ne- vada, and the rest ;
(Or afar, mounting the Northern Pacific to Sitka or Aliaska ;)°
Of what the feuillage of America is the preparation for—and of what all sights, North, South, East and West, are ;
‘¢ Western ’’ added in 1870. ‘ “and war itself, with all its horrors’ added in 1870, 1860 begins poem ‘‘ The thought of fruitage, Of Death, (the life greater)—of seeds,”’ etc. 5 Line 5 added in 1870.
~ © bo
22
338 LEAVES OF GRASS
Of This Union, soak’d, welded in blood—of the solemn price paid—of the unnamed lost, ever present in my mind ;*
—Of the temporary use of materials, for identity’s sake, ©
Of the present, passing, departing—of the growth of completer men than any yet,”
Of myself, soon, perhaps, closing up my songs by these shores, Io
Of California, of Oregon—and of me journeying to live and sing there ;
Of the Western Sea—of the spread inland between it and the spinal river,
Of the great pastoral area, athletic and feminine,
Of all sloping down there where the fresh free giver, the mother, the Mississippi flows,
Of future women* there—of happiness in those high plateaus, ranging three thousand miles, warm and cold;
Of mighty inland? cities yet unsurvey’d and unsuspected, (as I am also, and as it must be ;)
Of the new and good names—of the modern developments—of inalienable homesteads ;
Of a free and original life there—of simple diet and clean and sweet blood ;
Of litheness, majestic faces, clear eyes, and perfect physique there ;
Of immense spiritual results, future years, far west, each side of the Anahuacs ; 20
Of these leaves, well understood there, (being made for that area ;)
Of the native scorn of grossness and gain there ;
(O it lurks in me night and day—What is gain, after all, to savageness and freedom ?)
&* SONG AT SUNSET.
First published in 1860.
SPLENDOR of ended® day, floating and filling me! Hour prophetic—hour resuming the past!
Line 7 added in 1870.
1860 reads ‘‘ Of departing—of the growth of a mightier race than any yet.? 1860 adds “and westward still.” $ He 1860 reads ‘‘men and women.”’
*‘mighty inland’’ added in 1870,
1 2 3 S 5 § 1860. For *‘ ended’? reads « falling.”’
SONGS OF PARTING 339
Inflating my throat—you, divine average ! You, Earth and Life, till the last ray gleams, I sing.
Open mouth of my Soul, uttering gladness, Eyes of my Soul, seeing perfection,
Natural life of me, faithfully praising things; Corroborating forever the triumph of things.
Illustrious every one ! Illustrious what we name space—sphere of unnumber’d spir-
its ; IO Illustrious the mystery of motion, in all beings, even the tiniest insect ;
Illustrious the attribute of speech—the senses—the body ;
Illustrious the passing light! Illustrious the pale reflection on the new moon in the western sky !
Illustrious whatever I see, or hear, or touch, to the last.
Good in all,
In the satisfaction and aplomb of animals,
In the annual return of the seasons,
In the hilarity of youth,
In the strength and flush of manhood,
In the grandeur and exquisiteness of old age, 20 In the superb vistas of Death.
Wonderful to depart ;
Wonderful to be here !
The heart, to jet the all-alike and innocent blood!
To breathe the air, how delicious !
To speak! to walk! to seize something by the hand!
To prepare for sleep, for bed—to look on my rose-color’d flesh ;
To be conscious of my body, so satisfied,’ so large ;
To be this incredible God I am ;
To have gone forth among other Gods—these men and women I love. 30
Wonderful how I celebrate you and myself! How my thoughts play subtly at the spectacles around ! How the clouds pass silently overhead !
1 1860. For ‘‘ satisfied’? reads ‘‘amours.” ‘Songs Before Parting’’ reads ‘‘ happy.”’
340 LEAVES OF GRASS
How the earth darts on and on! and how the sun, moon, stars, dart on and on!
How the water sports and sings! (Surely it is alive !)
How the trees rise and stand up—with strong trunks—with branches and leaves !
(Surely there is something more in each of the trees—some living Soul. )
O amazement of things ! even the least particle!
O spirituality of things!
O strain musical, flowing through ages and continents—now reaching me and America ! 40
I take your strong chords—I intersperse them, and cheerfully pass them forward.
I too carol the sun, usher’d, or at noon, or, as now, setting,
I too throb to the brain and beauty of the earth, and of all the growths of the earth,
I too have felt the resistless call of myself.
As I sail’d down the Mississippi,
-As I wander’d over the prairies,
As I have lived—As I have look’d through my windows, my eyes,
As I went forth in the morning—As I beheld the light breaking in the east ;
As I bathed on the beach of the Eastern Sea, and again on the beach of the Western Sea ;
As I roam’d the streets of inland Chicago—whatever streets I
have roam’d ; 50
Or cities, or silent woods, or peace, or even amid the sights of 1 war ;
Wherever I have been, I have charged myself with contentment and triumph.
I sing the Equalities, modern or old,?
I sing the endless finales of things ;
I say Nature continues—Glory continues ;
I praise with electric voice ;
For I do not see one imperfection in the universe ;
And I do not see one cause or result lamentable at last in the universe.
1 Line 51 added in 1870. > «modern or old’ added in 1870.
SONGS OF PARTING 341
O setting sun! though the time has come,! I still warble under you, if none else does, unmitigated adora- tion. 60 &
WHEN I HEARD THE LEARN’D ASTRONOMER. First published in ‘‘ Drum-Taps,”’ 1865. WHEN I heard the learn’d astronomer ; When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me ; When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them ; When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room, How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick ; Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself, In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
& TO RICH GIVERS.
First published in 1860,
Wuart you give me, I cheerfully accept,
A little sustenance, a hut and garden, a little money—these, as I rendezvous with my poems ;
A traveler’s lodging and breakfast as I journey through The States —Why should I be ashamed to own such gifts? Why to advertise for them P
For I myself am not one who bestows nothing upon man and woman ;
For I bestow upon any man or woman the entrance to all the gifts of the universe.’
&
SO LONG!
First published in 1860. z To conclude—I announce what comes after me ;°
1 1860 reads ‘‘O when the time comes.’’ 2 1860 reads ‘‘ For I know that what I bestow upon any man or woman is
no.less than the entrance,”’ etc. 3 After line 1, 1860 reads “‘ The thought must be promulged, that all I know
at any time suffices for that time only—not subsequent time.”’
342 LEAVES OF GRASS
I announce mightier! offspring, orators, days, and then, for the present,? depart.
I remember I said, before my leaves sprang at-all,° I would raise my voice jocund and strong, with reference to consummations.
When America does what was promis’d,* When there are plentiful athletic bards, inland and seaboard, When through These States walk a hundred millions of superb
persons,
When the rest part away for superb persons, and contribute to them,°
When breeds of the most perfect mothers denote America,
Then to me and mine our due fruition. Io
I have press’d through in my own right,
I have sung the Body and the Soul—War and Peace have I sung, And the songs of Life and of Birth—and shown that there are many births :° -
I have offer’d my style to every one—I have journey’d with con-
fident step ;
1 1860 for ‘‘ mightier ’’ reads ‘¢ greater.’
2 «for the present’? added in 1870.
3 1860 reads ‘‘I remember I said to myself at the winter close, before my leaves sprang at all, that I would become a candid and unloosed sum- mer-poet.”’
4 After line 5, 1860 reads :
«‘ When each part is peopled with free people, When there is no city on earth to lead my city, the city of young men, the Man- nahatta city—But when the Mannahatta leads all the cities of the earth.”?
5 After line 8, 1860 reads:
‘‘ When fathers, firm, unconstrained, open-eyed—When breeds of the most perfect mothers denote America, Then to me ripeness and conclusion.
Yet not me, after all—let none be content with me,
I myself seek a man better than I am, or a woman better than I am,
I invite defiance, and to make myself superseded,
All I have done, I would cheerfully give to be trod under foot, if it might only be the soil of superior poems.
I have established nothing for good, I have but established these things, till things farther onward shall be prepared to be established, And I am myself the preparer of things farther onward.” 6 Lines 12-13 added in 1870.
SONGS OF PARTING 343
While my pleasure is yet at the full, I whisper, So Zong / And take the young woman’s hand, and the young man’s hand, for the last time.?
2
I announce natural persons to arise ;
I announce justice triumphant ;
I announce uncompromising liberty and equality ;
IT announce the justification of candor, and the justification of pride. 20
I announce that the identity of These States is a single identity -only ;
I announce the Union more and more compact, indissoluble ;?
I announce splendors and majesties to make all the previous poli- tics of the earth insignificant.
I announce adhesiveness—I say it shall be limitless, unloosen’d ; I say you shall yet find the friend you were looking for.
I announce a man or woman coming—perhaps you are the one, (So long /)*
I announce the great individual, fluid as Nature, chaste, affec- tionate, compassionate, fully armed.
1 After line 16, 1860 adds : *¢Once more I enforce you to give play to yourself—and not depend on me, or on any one but yourself, Once more I proclaim the whole of America for each individual, without ex- ception.
As I have announced the true theory of the youth, manhood, womanhood, of The States, I adhere to it ;
As I have announced myself on immortality, the body, procreation, hauteur, prudence,
As I joined the stern crowd that still confronts the President with menacing weapons—lI adhere to all,
As I have announced each age for itself, this moment I set the example.
I demand the choicest edifices to destroy them ; Room! room! for new far-planning draughtsmen and engineers ! Clear that rubbish from the building-spots and the paths!
So long !” 2 3 «(So long!)”’ begins line in 1860.
344 LEAVES OF GRASS
I announce a life that shall be copious, vehement, spiritual,
bold ;'
T announce an end’ that shall lightly and joyfully meet its trans- lation ;
I announce myriads of youths, beautiful, gigantic, sweet- blooded ; 30
I announce a race of splendid and savage old men.’
3
O thicker and faster! (So long /)*
O crowding too close upon me ;
I foresee too much—it means more than I thought ; It appears to me I am dying.
Hasten throat, and sound your last !* Salute me—salute the days* once more. Peal the old cry once more.
Screaming electric, the atmosphere using,
At random glancing, each as I notice absorbing,
Swiftly on, but a little while alighting, 40
Curious envelop’d messages delivering,
Sparkles hot, seed ethereal, down in the dirt dropping,
Myself unknowing, my commission obeying, to question it never daring,
To ages, and ages yet, the growth of the seed leaving,
To troops out of me, out of the army, the war arising’—they the tasks I have set promulging,
To women certain whispers of myself bequeathing—their affec- tion me more clearly explaining,
To young men my problems offering—no dallier I—I the muscle of their brains trying,
So I pass—a little time vocal, visible, contrary ;
Afterward, a melodious echo, passionately bent for—(death mak- ing me really® undying ; )
Line begins ‘‘ So dong’’ in 1860.
1860 for ‘¢an end’? reads ‘‘ an old age,’?
Lines 30-31 added in 1870.
‘(So long !)’’ added in 1867.
1860 reads ‘‘ Now throat, sound your last !”’
1860 for. ‘‘days’’ reads
“*out of the army, the war arising” added in 1870, “really’’ added in 1867.