University of Virginia Library

72   The wild gander leads his flock through the cool      night;
Ya-honk! he says, and sounds it down to me like an      invitation;
(The pert may suppose it meaningless, but I listen      close;
I find its purpose and place up there toward the      wintry sky.)
73  The sharp hoof'd moose of the north, the cat on the      house-sill, the chickadee, the prairie-dog,
The litter of the grunting sow as they tug at her teats,
The brood of the turkey      spread wings;
I see in them and myself the same old law.
74  The press of my foot to the earth springs a hundred      affections;
They scorn the best I can do to relate them.
75  I am enamour'd of growing outdoors,
Of men that live among cattle, or taste of the ocean      or woods,
Of the builders and steerers of ships, and the wielders      of axes and mauls, and the drivers of horses;
I can eat and sleep with them week in and week out.
76  What is commonest, cheapest, nearest, easiest, is      Me;
Me going in for my chances, spending for vast returns;
Adorning myself to bestow myself on the first that      will take me;
Not asking the sky to come down to my good will;
Scattering it freely forever.