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. 21. Drum-Taps. 30. Race of Veterans
2. Leaves of Grass. 32. From Noon to Starry Night. 12. Mediums
3. Leaves of Grass. 32. From Noon to Starry Night. 16. From Far Dakota's Canyons [June 25, 1876]
4. Leaves of Grass. 35. Good-Bye My Fancy. 11. Shakspere-Bacon’s Cipher
5. Leaves of Grass. 20. By the Roadside. 8. Perfections

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