University of Virginia Library

1  POETS to come!
Not to-day is to justify me, and Democracy, and what      we are for;
But you, a new brood, native, athletic, continental,      greater than before known,
You must justify me.
2  I but write one or two indicative words for the      future,
I but advance a moment, only to wheel and hurry back      in the darkness.
3  I am a man who, sauntering along, without fully      stopping, turns a casual look upon you, and      then averts his face,
Leaving it to you to prove and define it,
Expecting the main things from you.