Poem by Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass. 24. Autumn Rivulets. 36. With All Thy Gifts

With all thy gifts America,
Standing secure, rapidly tending, overlooking the world,
Power, wealth, extent, vouchsafed to thee—with these and like of
      these vouchsafed to thee,
What if one gift thou lackest? (the ultimate human problem never solving,)
The gift of perfect women fit for thee—what if that gift of gifts
      thou lackest?
The towering feminine of thee? the beauty, health, completion, fit for thee?
The mothers fit for thee?

1. Leaves of Grass. 21. Drum-Taps. 35. How Solemn As One by One [Washington City, 1865]
2. Leaves of Grass. 32. From Noon to Starry Night. 9. Excelsior
3. Leaves of Grass. 34. Sands at Seventy. 11. The Wallabout Martyrs
4. Leaves of Grass. 34. Sands at Seventy. 43. The Dying Veteran
5. Leaves of Grass. 5. Calamus. 38. That Shadow My Likeness

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