These, I, Singing In Spring

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




   THESE, I, singing in spring, collect for lovers,
   (For who but I should understand lovers, and all their sorrow and
         joy?
   And who but I should be the poet of comrades?)
   Collecting, I traverse the garden, the world--but soon I pass the
         gates,
   Now along the pond-side--now wading in a little, fearing not the wet,
   Now by the post-and-rail fences, where the old stones thrown there,
         pick'd from the fields, have accumulated,
   (Wild-flowers and vines and weeds come up through the stones, and
         partly cover them--Beyond these I pass,)
   Far, far in the forest, before I think where I go,
   Solitary, smelling the earthy smell, stopping now and then in the
         silence,
   Alone I had thought--yet soon a troop gathers around me,           10
   Some walk by my side, and some behind, and some embrace my arms or
         neck,
   They, the spirits of dear friends, dead or alive--thicker they come,
         a great crowd, and I in the middle,
   Collecting, dispensing, singing in spring, there I wander with them,
   Plucking something for tokens--tossing toward whoever is near me;
   Here! lilac, with a branch of pine,
   Here, out of my pocket, some moss which I pull'd off a live-oak in
         Florida, as it hung trailing down,
   Here, some pinks and laurel leaves, and a handful of sage,
   And here what I now draw from the water, wading in the pondside,
   (O here I last saw him that tenderly loves me--and returns again,
         never to separate from me,
   And this, O this shall henceforth be the token of comrades--this
         Calamus-root shall,                                          20
   Interchange it, youths, with each other! Let none render it back!)
   And twigs of maple, and a bunch of wild orange, and chestnut,
   And stems of currants, and plum-blows, and the aromatic cedar:
   These, I, compass'd around by a thick cloud of spirits,
   Wandering, point to, or touch as I pass, or throw them loosely from
         me,
   Indicating to each one what he shall have--giving something to each;
   But what I drew from the water by the pond-side, that I reserve,
   I will give of it--but only to them that love, as I myself am capable
         of loving.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 08, 2023

1:49 min read
152

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEFGHIBJKELMNOPQRMSTUVBWMXYZ1 2 3 PM4 5 Q6
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 2,215
Words 361
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 40

Walt Whitman

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

All Walt Whitman poems | Walt Whitman Books

35 fans

Discuss the poem These, I, Singing In Spring with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "These, I, Singing In Spring" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/38189/these,-i,-singing-in-spring>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    15
    hours
    24
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    The long poem “The Waste Land” was written by which poet?
    A W. H. Auden
    B T. S. Eliot
    C Emma Lazarus
    D C. S Lewis