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Leaves of Grass

  
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collapse section1. 
LEAVES OF GRASS.
 1. 
1 — Poem of Walt Whitman, an American.
 2. 
2 — Poem of Women.
 3. 
3 — Poem of Salutation.
 4. 
4 — Poem of The Daily Work of The Workmen and Workwomen of These States.
 5. 
5 — Broad-Axe Poem.
 6. 
6 — Poem of a Few Greatnesses.
 7. 
7 — Poem of The Body.
 8. 
8 — Poem of Many In One.
 9. 
9 — Poem of Wonder at The Resurrection of The Wheat.
 10. 
10 — Poem of You, Whoever You Are.
 11. 
11 — Sun-Down Poem.
 12. 
12 — Poem of The Road.
 13. 
13 — Poem of Procreation.
 14. 
14 — Poem of The Poet.
 15. 
15 — Clef Poem.
 16. 
16 — Poem of The Dead Young Men of Europe, The 72d and 73d Years of These States
 17. 
17 — Poem of The Heart of The Son of Manhattan Island.
 18. 
18 — Poem of The Last Explanation of Prudence.
 19. 
19 — Poem of The Singers, and of The Words of Poems.
 20. 
20 — Faith Poem.
 21. 
21 — Liberty Poem for Asia, Africa, Europe, America, Australia, Cuba, and The Archipelogoes of the Sea.
 22. 
22 — Poem of Apparitions in Boston, The 78th Year of These States.
 23. 
23 — Poem of Remembrances for A Girl or A Boy of These States.
 24. 
24 — Poem of Perfect Miracles.
 25. 
25 — Poem of The Child That Went Forth, and Always Goes Forth, Forever and Forever
 26. 
26 — Night Poem.
 27. 
27 — Poem of Faces.
 28. 
28 — Bunch Poem.
 29. 
29 — Lesson Poem.
 30. 
30 — Poem of The Propositions of Nakedness.
 31. 
31 — Poem of The Sayers of The Words of The Earth.
 32. 
32 — Burial Poem.
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LEAVES-DROPPINGS.

  
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13 — Poem of Procreation.

A WOMAN waits for me — she contains all,      nothing is lacking,
Yet all were lacking, if sex were lacking, or if      the moisture of the right man were lacking.
Sex contains all,
Bodies, souls, meanings, proofs, purities, delica-     cies, results, promulgations,
Songs, commands, health, pride, the maternal      mystery, the semitic milk,
All hopes, benefactions, bestowals,
All the passions, loves, beauties, delights of the      earth,
All the governments, judges, gods, followed per-     sons of the earth,
These are contained in sex, as parts of itself      and justifications of itself.
Without shame the man I like knows and avows      the deliciousness of his sex,
Without shame the woman I like knows and      avows hers.
241

O I will fetch bully breeds of children yet!
They cannot be fetched, I say, on less terms than      mine,
Electric growth from the male, and rich ripe fibre      from the female, are the terms.
I will dismiss myself from impassive women,
I will go stay with her who waits for me, and      with those women that are warm-blooded and      sufficient for me,
I see that they understand me, and do not deny      me,
I see that they are worthy of me — so I will be      the robust husband of those women!
They are not one jot less than I am,
They are tanned in the face by shining suns and      blowing winds,
Their flesh has the old divine suppleness and      strength,
They know how to swim, row, ride, wrestle,      shoot, run, strike, retreat, advance, resist,      defend themselves,
They are ultimate in their own right — they are      calm, clear, well-possessed of themselves.
I draw you close to me, you women!
I cannot let you go, I would do you good,
I am for you, and you are for me, not only for our      own sake, but for others' sakes,
242

Enveloped in you sleep greater heroes and bards,
They refuse to awake at the touch of any man but      me.
It is I, you women — I make my way,
I am stern, acrid, large, undissuadable — but I      love you,
I do not hurt you any more than is necessary for      you,
I pour the stuff to start sons and daughters fit for      These States — I press with slow rude muscle,
I brace myself effectually — I listen to no en-     treaties,
I dare not withdraw till I deposite what has so      long accumulated within me.
Through you I drain the pent-up rivers of myself,
In you I wrap a thousand onward years,
On you I graft the grafts of the best-beloved of      me and of America,
The drops I distil upon you are drops of fierce      and athletic girls, and of new artists, musi-     cians, singers,
The babes I beget upon you are to beget babes in      their turn,
I shall demand perfect men and women out of my      love-spendings,
I shall expect them to interpenetrate with others,      as I and you interpenetrate now,
243

I shall count on the fruits of the gushing showers      of them, as I count on the fruits of the gush-     ing showers I give now,
I shall look for loving crops from the birth, life,      death, immortality I plant so lovingly now.
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