Poem by Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass. 20. By the Roadside. 7. When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much
      applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

1. Leaves of Grass. 24. Autumn Rivulets. 35. Italian Music in Dakota
2. Leaves of Grass. 33. Songs of Parting. 14. Portals
3. Leaves of Grass. 24. Autumn Rivulets. 38. The Prairie States
4. Leaves of Grass. 35. Good-Bye My Fancy. 17. A Christmas Greeting
5. Leaves of Grass. 34. Sands at Seventy. Fancies at Navesink. 6. Proudly the Flood Comes In

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