Leaves of Grass (1867)


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2.

TEARS! tears! tears!
In the night, in solitude, tears;
On the white shore dripping, dripping, suck'd in by
         the sand;
Tears—not a star shining—all dark and desolate;
Moist tears from the eyes of a muffled head:
—O who is that ghost?—that form in the dark, with
         tears?
 


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What shapeless lump is that, bent, crouch'd there on
         the sand?
Streaming tears—sobbing tears—throes, choked with
         wild cries;
O storm, embodied, rising, careering, with swift steps
         along the beach;
O wild and dismal night storm, with wind! O belch-
         ing and desperate!
O shade, so sedate and decorous by day, with calm
         countenance and regulated pace;
But away, at night, as you fly, none looking—O then
         the unloosen'd ocean,
Of tears! tears! tears!
 
 
 
 
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