from 'Dreams and Visions'
I saw you, Walt, this morning
in the text of a speech by Dennis Kucinich—
saw you in his celebration of the humble
his exaltation of diversity
his call to live our highest ideals
and his repeated use
of 'we' and 'courage' and 'America.'
And I see you now as I walk this quiet park—
the delight I feel in grass that's patterned
by the summer sun and rich tree shade
in toddlers, brother and sister, who play in it
and in their dog with lolling tongue
a large and friendly fellow who from a distance
watches them and smiles.
The glimpse of Whitman is not his historical self or even his symbolic presence: it is rather his spirit which permeates our American world and being. I revere Whitman; he is one of my touchstone poets. And your evocation of him in this poems is deeply moving. // Whitman always suggests THINGS TO COME, he's never just of the moment, and so having a picture of kids and their dog gives us that sense of heritage. And you pay homage to the image of grass which he chose for himself, grass PATTERNED BY THE SUN AND RICH TREE SHADE. In the first stanza you give us Whitman the Symbol of American Democracy, and what a worthy man to fill that role. Lorca, Neruda, Pessoa, Paz, etc. all those poets wrote odes to Whitman. Americans just don't realize what an Ambassador of our Good Will Whitman has been. We can't allow his heritage to be wasted! !
hey, daniel! i'm so glad you read and commented (the first one in ph!) on this poem. i myself am fond of it. as you point out, whitman is huge in american, in international poetry and literature. a headwaters who's fed many streams and rivers, and a touchstone poet for me as well. one can't much better than a mouse is miracle enough to stagger sextillions of infidels. thank you and thank you. glen p.s. i'm guessing you know of the walt spotting in ginsberg's a supermarket in california, hence another glimpse of whitman. -g
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
A vision of Whitman's presence, within and without, here and there, now and then, over and over, again and again... realized or not, he resides in much of what we are, and are from.
Smoky, thank you for commenting on this poem, one of my own favorites. So right you are about Walt. -Glen