Walt Whitman
For erratic style he leads van,
Wildly, wayward Walt Whitman.
*Mathew Arnold saw fit to say that Longfellow was not
the National Poet of America, but we presume few believed
him; one of Longfellows grandest pieced the scene is laid in
Canada.
It is a tale of love divine;
Charming faithful Evangeline.
poem by James McIntyre
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
An Apple from Walt Whitman
There's never been a poet where I live,
but I grew up in the shade of Whitman's name:
born in West Hills—our hills—he would have walked
our paths along the crest. I walked Whitman Road,
crashed the Whitman Drive-In, stole a book
from the sci-fi rack at the Melville-Whitman Pharmacy,
even played lacrosse against Whitman High;
we lost three times, the guys from Halfway Hollow,
to young men with Whitman in white on their varsity jackets.
My mother tells a story about Thanksgiving,
back when kids went begging in rags and blackface:
how Carrie Wicks's sister said she got
an apple from Walt Whitman, right at his house,
an old man with a beard. The big kids laughed,
knowing the white-haired caretaker was no one.
I set no foot inside the Whitman House
or Leaves of Grass till after I went away,
but I'm better having grown up with the name,
the house and hills of a poet everyone knew,
a poet big enough in the mothers' stories
for a girl to believe he came to the door with a long
white beard and smiled and handed her an apple.
If a poet the size of Whitman named our few
square miles and a few in Jersey it's going to take
a lot more big ones to hand us all a welcome
sweet as a Thanksgiving apple from Walt Whitman,
white-haired care-taker, seed of mothers' stories,
Appleseed of our poetry: nourishment, shade.
poem by Eric Torgersen
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Poet Hunter and Mathew
In the dense jungle the poet hunter went
With his photographer friend, Mathew
Carrying a shot-gun that Jim Corbet lent
And a camera that was practically new
Eagerly they waited for the jungle king
Composed, silent – after all tiger’s the name
They wished and prayed but not a thing
Came to start their hunting game
Rejected, frustrated the poet yawned
Along with his friend, Mathew
The hush was broken by a starling sound
And the poet his shot-gun drew
Upon them was the tigress glance
A few metres away from Mathew
The poet’s hands shook in trembling stance
And his heart beat missed a few
But his poetic mind as rescue came
And the jungle gleamed with greenery
Sexy the tiger-skin beauty became
In disguise was the haunting fairy
With camera resting on his nose
Taking shoots was friend, Mathew
Some were distant, some shots close
But they came out good, he knew
Tigress, bored by the foolish scene
Jumped on friend Mathew
And dipping her teeth in his skin
A good poetic lunch she chew
The poet hunter ran seeing the plight
And the tigress behind him flew
Behind was still enjoying the sight
And taking snaps blood stained Mathew
poem by Sas Debray
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
So Far And So Far, And On Toward The End
SO far, and so far, and on toward the end,
Singing what is sung in this book, from the irresistible impulses of
me;
But whether I continue beyond this book, to maturity,
Whether I shall dart forth the true rays, the ones that wait unfired,
(Did you think the sun was shining its brightest?
No--it has not yet fully risen;)
Whether I shall complete what is here started,
Whether I shall attain my own height, to justify these, yet
unfinished,
Whether I shall make THE POEM OF THE NEW WORLD, transcending all
others--depends, rich persons, upon you,
Depends, whoever you are now filling the current Presidentiad, upon
you, 10
Upon you, Governor, Mayor, Congressman,
And you, contemporary America.
Whitman, Walt. 1900. Leaves of Grass.
poem by Walt Whitman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
He most honors my style who learns under it to destroy the teacher.
quote by Walt Whitman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
A Song
COME, I will make the continent indissoluble;
I will make the most splendid race the sun ever yet shone upon;
I will make divine magnetic lands,
With the love of comrades,
With the life-long love of comrades.
I will plant companionship thick as trees along all the rivers of
America, and along the shores of the great lakes, and all over
the prairies;
I will make inseparable cities, with their arms about each other's
necks;
By the love of comrades,
By the manly love of comrades.
For you these, from me, O Democracy, to serve you, ma femme! 10
For you! for you, I am trilling these songs,
In the love of comrades,
In the high-towering love of comrades.
poem by Walt Whitman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
In America the young are always ready to give to those who are older than themselves the full benefits of their inexperience.
quote by Walt Whitman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy! | In Romanian
Walt Whitman, he who laid end to end words never seen in each other's company before outside of a dictionary.
quote by David Lodge
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he has absorbed it.
Walt Whitman in Leaves of Grass (1855)
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Aunt Evangeline Approves
My Aunt Evangeline has come
To visit Melbourne town,
Garbed for its Glad Centenary
In frill and festal gown.
And Aunties says in mincing tones
As she surveys the scene,
Quaite pretty work. But just one touch
Of Ort, Ai think would help so much.'
Says Aunt Evangeline.
'Now, take those sweet Venetian masts,
Which clowns call 'lolly sticks,'
Some naice ort-muslin maight be used
In colahs that will mix.
Then what they need is pampas grass
Dyed pink and puce and green
To stick in those - ah - funnel things
Such deah, sweet memories it brings,'
Says Aunt Evangeline.
'Crepe papah, swung from pole to pole
Festooned with Christmas
Maight add a touch of tasteful
Mai deah, it's taste that
So on these fraightful buildings,
Paint a pretty watah scene,
With storks and - ah - conv
To please ortistic folk laike us.
Says Aunt Evangeline.
My Aunt Evangeline says, 'H'm!
Theah's something lacking yet
Something appropriate . . . Of course!
Whai how could Ai forget?
Ten thousand aspidistra plants
So graceful when they're green
Along those guttahs in the street
And on those pylons. They'd look sweet!'
Says Aunt Evangeline.
poem by Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
To Foreign Lands
I HEARD that you ask'd for something to prove this puzzle, the New
World,
And to define America, her athletic Democracy;
Therefore I send you my poems, that you behold in them what you
wanted.
poem by Walt Whitman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Laws For Creations
LAWS for Creations,
For strong artists and leaders--for fresh broods of teachers, and
perfect literats for America,
For noble savans, and coming musicians.
All must have reference to the ensemble of the world, and the compact
truth of the world;
There shall be no subject too pronounced--All works shall illustrate
the divine law of indirections.
What do you suppose Creation is?
What do you suppose will satisfy the Soul, except to walk free, and
own no superior?
What do you suppose I would intimate to you in a hundred ways, but
that man or woman is as good as God?
And that there is no God any more divine than Yourself?
And that that is what the oldest and newest myths finally mean? 10
And that you or any one must approach Creations through such laws?
poem by Walt Whitman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A Tribute To Canada Revised
Canada is home to the Roccky Mountains
Canada is home to the golden mine
Canada is home to the Fishery in dustries
Canada is home to the oil industries
Canada is a land that was made for the refues from all over the world
That came here to start a new lives also
Canada is multicultural
Canada stand strong and free
Canada is my home also and I am proud also to call Canada my home
Canada is home to thte seaguls and the robyns
Canada is home to the foxes
Canada is home to the wild bears
Canada is home to the deers
poem by Aldo Kraas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A Cloudy Imagination
The lingering cumulus clouds
imperceptibly changed their shapes
while I sat below discerning
these metamorphosed spectacles.
My imagination went wild
as they drifted across the sky.
It seemingly was like my mind
was orchestrating their transmuting.
I glanced at one that took the shape
of the poet Walt Whitman's head;
another like Sylvia Plath;
and yet another looked like Poe.
I glanced back at the Whitman cloud
but it changed into Erato.
I took my pad from my pocket
and began to write this poem.
poem by Albert Ahearn
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Love Cherish Love
If you have a Love
That feels the same for you
Cherish this Love
For you will never be blue
If you have a Love
Who is thankful & grateful
Cherish this Love
For she will always be plentiful
If you have a Love
Who has grace & style
Cherish this Love
For you will have the grandest smile
If you have a Love
Who rises like Sunshine
Cherish this Love
For she is pure, true & divine
If you have a Love
Who dreams like Midnight
Cherish this Love
For she will always do you right
If you have a Love
Who inhances like Spring
Cherish this Love
For the Bluebirds will forever sing
If you have a Love
Who is as bright as a Star
Cherish this Love
For she will carry you very far
(1/14/09)
poem by Arthur Garcia
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Speech is the twin of my vision, it is unequal to measure itself, it provokes me forever, it says sarcastically, Walt you contain enough, why don't you let it out then?
quote by Walt Whitman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The poet judges not as a judge judges but as the sun falling around a helpless thing.
quote by Walt Whitman
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy! | In Romanian
Come, Said My Soul
Come, said my soul,
Such verses for my body let us write, (For we are One),
That should I after death invisibly return,
Or, long, long hence, in other spheres,
There to some group of mates the chants resuming,
(Tallying Earth's soil, trees, winds, tumultous waves,)
Ever with pleas'd smile I may keep on
Ever and ever to the verses owning - as, first, I here and now,
Signing for soul and body, set them to my name,
Walt Whitman.
poem by Walt Whitman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A Supermarket in California
What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman, for I walked down the
streets under the trees with a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon.
In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images, I went into the neon fruit
supermarket, dreaming of your enumerations!
What peaches and what penumbras! Whole families shopping at night! Aisles
full of husbands! Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes! --- and you,
Garcia Lorca, what were you doing down by the watermelons?
I saw you, Walt Whitman, childless, lonely old grubber, poking among the
meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery boys.
I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops? What price
bananas? Are you my Angel?
I wandered in and out of the brilliant stacks of cans following you, and
followed in my imagination by the store detective.
We strode down the open corridors together in our solitary fancy tasting
artichokes, possessing every frozen delicacy, and never passing the cashier.
Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors close in an hour. Which way does
your beard point tonight?
(I touch your book and dream of our odyssey in the supermarket and feel
absurd.)
Will we walk all night through solitary streets? The trees add shade to
shade, lights out in the houses, we'll both be lonely.
Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in
driveways, home to our silent cottage?
Ah, dear father, graybeard, lonely old courage-teacher, what America did you
have when Charon quit poling his ferry and you got out on a smoking bank and
stood watching the boat disappear on the black waters of Lethe?
poem by Allen Ginsberg
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Whether Canada ends up as o-ne national government or two national governments or several national governments, or some other kind of arrangement is, quite frankly, secondary in my opinion.
quote by Stephen Harper
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Evangeline
(robbie robertson)
She stands on the banks of the mighty mississippi
Alone in the pale moonlight
Waitin for a man, a riverboat gambler
Said that hed return tonight
They used to waltz on the banks of the mighty mississippi
Lovin the whole night through
He was a riverboat gambler off to make a killin
And bring it on back to you
Evangeline evangeline
Curses the soul of the mississippi queen
That pulled her man away
Bayou sam from south louisian
Had gamblin in his veins
Evangeline from the maritime
Was slowly goin insane
High on the top of a hickory hill
She stands in the lightning and thunder
Down on the river the boat was a sinkin
She watched that queen go under
Evangeline evangeline
Curses the soul of the mississippi queen
That pulled her man away
Evangeline evangeline
Curses the soul of the mississippi queen
That pulled her man away
song performed by by Emmylou Harris
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!