The Prairie-Grass Dividing

Walt Whitman 1819 (West Hills) – 1892 (Camden)




   THE prairie-grass dividing--its special odor breathing,
   I demand of it the spiritual corresponding,
   Demand the most copious and close companionship of men,
   Demand the blades to rise of words, acts, beings,
   Those of the open atmosphere, coarse, sunlit, fresh, nutritious,
   Those that go their own gait, erect, stepping with freedom and
         command--leading, not following,
   Those with a never-quell'd audacity--those with sweet and lusty
         flesh, clear of taint,
   Those that look carelessly in the faces of Presidents and Governors,
         as to say, Who are you?
   Those of earth-born passion, simple, never-constrain'd, never
         obedient,
   Those of inland America.                                           10

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 22, 2023

30 sec read
168

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABCDEAFGHIJKL
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 749
Words 99
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Walt Whitman

Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. more…

All Walt Whitman poems | Walt Whitman Books

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