What Think You I Take My Pen In Hand?

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




   WHAT think you I take my pen in hand to record?
   The battle-ship, perfect-model'd, majestic, that I saw pass the
         offing to-day under full sail?
   The splendors of the past day? Or the splendor of the night that
         envelopes me?
   Or the vaunted glory and growth of the great city spread around me?--
         No;
   But I record of two simple men I saw to-day, on the pier, in the
         midst of the crowd, parting the parting of dear friends;
   The one to remain hung on the other's neck, and passionately kiss'd
         him,
   While the one to depart, tightly prest the one to remain in his arms.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 22, 2023

33 sec read
101

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEEFBGHIJ
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 623
Words 109
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12

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 What Think You I Take My Pen In Hand? 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

    "What Think You I Take My Pen In Hand?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/38246/what-think-you-i-take-my-pen-in-hand?>.

    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
    16
    hours
    46
    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?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "Stopping by Woods On a Snowy Evening"?
    A John Keats
    B Elizabeth Barrett Browning
    C Robert Frost
    D William Shakespeare