The Poetry Corner

From Paumanok Starting

By Walt Whitman

From Paumanock starting, I fly like a bird, Around and around to soar, to sing the idea of all; To the north betaking myself, to sing there arctic songs, To Kanada, till I absorb Kanada in myself--to Michigan then, To Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, to sing their songs, (they are inimitable;) Then to Ohio and Indiana to sing theirs--to Missouri and Kansas and Arkansas, to sing theirs, To Tennessee and Kentucky--to the Carolinas and Georgia, to sing theirs, To Texas, and so along up toward California, to roam accepted everywhere; To sing first, (to the tap of the war-drum, if need be,) The idea of all--of the western world, one and inseparable. And then the song of each member of These States.