Leaves of grass. (1861-1861) | ||
78.
I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise,Regardless of others, ever regardful of others,
Maternal as well as paternal, a child as well as a man,
Stuffed with the stuff that is coarse, and stuffed with the stuff that is fine,
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A southerner soon as a northerner, a planter nonchalant and hospitable,
A Yankee, bound my own way, ready for trade, my joints the limberest joints on earth and the sternest joints on earth,
A Kentuckian, walking the vale of the Elkhorn in my deer-skin leggings,
A boatman over lakes or bays, or along coasts—a Hoosier, Badger, Buckeye,
A Louisianian or Georgian—a Poke-easy from sandhills and pines,
At home on Kanadian snow-shoes, or up in the bush, or with fishermen off Newfoundland,
At home in the fleet of ice-boats, sailing with the rest, and tacking,
At home on the hills of Vermont, or in the woods of Maine, or the Texas ranch,
Comrade of Californians—comrade of free north-westerners, and loving their big proportions,
Comrade of raftsmen and coalmen—comrade of all who shake hands and welcome to drink and meat,
A learner with the simplest, a teacher of the thoughtfullest,
A novice beginning, yet experient of myriads of seasons,
Of every hue, trade, rank, caste and religion,
Not merely of the New World, but of Africa, Europe, Asia—a wandering savage,
A farmer, mechanic, artist, gentleman, sailor, lover, quaker,
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Leaves of grass. (1861-1861) | ||