Sherry Chandler » It’s the Fourth of July
It’s the Fourth of July
and who better than Whitman to celebrate?
I Hear America Singing
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 the 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 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.—Walt Whitman, from Leaves of Grass, text from Bartleby
I also like Garrison’s pick for today, William Carlos Williams’s “Pastoral.” I think the man’s tongue may be in his cheek a tiny bit on this one.
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2 Comments
1. Helen Losse replies at 4th July 2007, 4:26 pm :
I, Too
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed–
I, too, am America.
Langston Hughes
2. sherry replies at 5th July 2007, 1:52 pm :
Thanks, Helen. I love it. And I love this sort of poetry call-and-response thing.
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