1

    O TAKE my hand Walt Whitman！

    Such gliding¹ wonders！ such sights and sounds！

    Such join'd unended links， each hook'd to the next，

    Each answering all， each sharing the earth with all.

    What widens within you Walt Whitman？

    What waves and soils exuding²？

    What climes？ what persons and cities are here？

    Who are the infants， some playing， some slumbering³？

    Who are the girls？ who are the married women？

    Who are the groups of old men going slowly with their arms

    about each other's necks？

    What rivers are these？ what forests and fruits are these？

    What are the mountains call'd that rise so high in the mists？

    What myriads⁴ of dwellings⁵ are they fill'd with dwellers⁶？

    2

    Within me latitude⁷ widens， longitude⁸ lengthens⁹，

    Asia， Africa， Europe， are to the east - America is provided

    for in the west，

    Banding the bulge¹⁰ of the earth winds the hot equator，

    Curiously¹¹ north and south turn the axis-ends，

    Within me is the longest day， the sun wheels in slanting¹² rings，

    it does not set for months，

    Stretch'd in due time within me the midnight sun just rises

    above the horizon and sinks again，

    Within me zones， seas， cataracts¹³， forests， volcanoes， groups，

    Malaysia， Polynesia， and the great West Indian islands.

    3

    What do you hear Walt Whitman？

    I hear the workman singing and the farmer's wife singing，

    I hear in the distance the sounds of children and of animals

    early in the day，

    I hear emulous shouts of Australians pursuing the wild horse，

    I hear the Spanish dance with castanets in the chestnut¹⁴ shade，

    to the rebeck and guitar，

    I hear continual echoes from the Thames，

    I hear fierce French liberty songs，

    I hear of the Italian boat-sculler the musical recitative of old

    poems，

    I hear the locusts¹⁵ in Syria as they strike the grain and grass

    with the showers of their terrible clouds，

    I hear the Coptic refrain toward sundown， pensively¹⁶ falling

    on the breast of the black venerable vast mother the Nile，

    I hear the chirp¹⁷ of the Mexican muleteer， and the bells of the

    mule¹⁸，

    I hear the Arab muezzin calling from the top of the mosque¹⁹，

    I hear the Christian²⁰ priests at the altars of their churches， I

    hear the responsive base and soprano，

    I hear the cry of the Cossack， and the sailor's voice putting to

    sea at Okotsk，

    I hear the wheeze²¹ of the slave-coffle as the slaves march on， as

    the husky gangs pass on by twos and threes， fasten'd

    together with wrist-chains and ankle-chains，

    I hear the Hebrew reading his records and psalms²²，

    I hear the rhythmic²³ myths of the Greeks， and the strong

    legends of the Romans，

    I hear the tale of the divine life and bloody²⁴ death of the

    beautiful God the Christ，

    I hear the Hindoo teaching his favorite pupil the loves， wars，

    adages²⁵， transmitted safely to this day from poets who

    wrote three thousand years ago.

    4

    What do you see Walt Whitman？

    Who are they you salute²⁶， and that one after another salute you？

    I see a great round wonder rolling through space，

    I see diminute farms， hamlets， ruins， graveyards²⁷， jails， factories，

    palaces， hovels， huts of barbarians²⁸， tents of nomads²⁹

    upon the surface，

    I see the shaded part on one side where the sleepers³⁰ are

    sleeping， and the sunlit part on the other side，

    I see the curious rapid change of the light and shade，

    I see distant lands， as real and near to the inhabitants of them

    as my land is to me.

    I see plenteous waters，

    I see mountain peaks， I see the sierras of Andes where they

    range，

    I see plainly the Himalayas， Chian Shahs， Altays， Ghauts，

    I see the giant pinnacles of Elbruz， Kazbek， Bazardjusi，

    I see the Styrian Alps， and the Karnac Alps，

    I see the Pyrenees， Balks， Carpathians， and to the north the

    Dofrafields， and off at sea mount Hecla，

    I see Vesuvius and Etna， the mountains of the Moon， and the

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