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leaf 1 recto

[the idea of the necessity of]

the idea of the necessity of contact with the earth
—☞ The virtue there
—the necessity of lpersonal labor at some trade

An apostrophe to Earth

                                                                                       
the The only virtue thou thee & thine!
The al
They odor of thy the grass &
        soil and woods
They labor with the spade
        & axe &
Thy sail and oar
Date
This manuscript was likely written in 1871 after Whitman accepted an invitation from the American Institute to compose and recite a poem at the opening of its fortieth Annual Exhibition in New York City. Whitman read the poem on September 7, 1871, and it was published soon after that in several newspapers and in a small book.
Editorial note

This manuscript relates to the poem first published as "After All, Not to Create Only" in 1871. The poem was ultimately titled "Song of the Exposition."

The verso of the manuscript leaf is blank.

Location
After All Not to Create Only  |  The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.