Sunday, April 11, 2010

Being Inspired by Others

1
Come, I will make the continent indissoluble;
I will make the most splendid race the sun ever yet shone upon;
I will make divine magnetic lands,
With the love of comrades,
With the life-long love of comrades.

2
I will plant companionship thick as trees along all the rivers of America, and along the
shores
of
the great lakes, and all over the prairies;
I will make inseparable cities, with their arms about each other's necks;
By the love of comrades,
By the manly love of comrades.

3
For you these, from me, O Democracy, to serve you, ma femme!
For you! for you, I am trilling these songs,
In the love of comrades,
In the high-towering love of comrades.

--Walt Whitman

8 comments:

Opaque said...

Wow! I am very much inspired by this. Aunt, thanks for sharing this!

Judith Ellis said...

My pleasure. Whitman is amazing, my dear nephew.

DB said...

Judith, before I finished reading the first verse I knew it was by Whitman, even though I didn't know the poem. He has a special, unmistakable voice. It's a shame more of us don't share the pure, sparkling vigor of his vision for this country.

DB

Judith Ellis said...

Ah, Whitman! You would know his voice, DB. Another you would know too. I love your vast knowledge and varied appreciation, dear sir.

wmmbb said...

And I thought it was commerce and money, much less "comrades".

Judith Ellis said...

Yeah, wmmbb, I think DB got it right when he spoke about Whitman's vision: "It's a shame more of us don't share the pure, sparkling vigor of his vision for this country."

septembermom said...

Whitman always inspires me. I still remember calling myself a "Whitman enthusiast" in an undergraduate college essay. Love it!

Judith Ellis said...

Great description, Kelly!