I Hear America Singing
by Walt Whitman
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand
singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or
at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of
the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows,
robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
3 comments:
Heartbreaking to read these lines and ponder all that once may have been good in this country and now is lost, lost, lost.
I hear America choking on its own lies as the blood drains from the heart and the cold extremities perform only the rote puppet simulation of a danse macabre, automatic footsteps echoing down the unforgiving canyons of history. A hollow music, a junkyard death rattle.
After one look, Walt would have wanted to crawl back under the covers.
By the by, speaking of junkyards, it gives pause to consider how the sacred underwear guy dipped into his wife's "blind trust" (yeah, right) for the million dollars that then was multiplied like the loaves and fishes by the hedge fund Vulture King in the process of turning Detroit into one. Junkyard I mean. This is one of those stories no one wants to mention because it reveals too much about where we are now, in our great step-on-your-face plutocracy. "Culturally" that is -- to use that term the S.U. guy keeps dusting off every time he talks about our kissing cousins relationship with Israel. ("We've got their backs.")
Read it and weep.
Mitt Romney's Bailout Bonanza
Yes, it's all so creepy and scary. I am afraid to breathe
and can't answer the phone--so many political calls.
Post a Comment