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4.
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.
Not to-day is to justify me, and Democracy, and what we are for;
318
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.
| Leaves of grass. | |