Poem by Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass. 34. Sands at Seventy. Fancies at Navesink. 3. You Tides with Ceaseless Swell

You tides with ceaseless swell! you power that does this work!
You unseen force, centripetal, centrifugal, through space's spread,
Rapport of sun, moon, earth, and all the constellations,
What are the messages by you from distant stars to us? what Sirius'?
      what Capella's?
What central heart—and you the pulse—vivifies all? what boundless
      aggregate of all?
What subtle indirection and significance in you? what clue to all in
      you? what fluid, vast identity,
Holding the universe with all its parts as one—as sailing in a ship?

1. Leaves of Grass. 21. Drum-Taps. 35. How Solemn As One by One [Washington City, 1865]
2. Leaves of Grass. 30. Whispers of Heavenly Death. 5. Yet, Yet, Ye Downcast Hours
3. Leaves of Grass. 35. Good-Bye My Fancy. 7. The Pallid Wreath
4. Leaves of Grass. 32. From Noon to Starry Night. 9. Excelsior
5. Leaves of Grass. 34. Sands at Seventy. 11. The Wallabout Martyrs

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