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Poem of the Singers, and of the Words of Poems.

19 — Poem of The Singers, and of The Words of Poems.

PERFECT sanity shows the master among  
 philosophs,
Time, always without flaw, indicates itself in  
 parts,
What always indicates the poet, is the crowd of  
 the pleasant company of singers, and their  
 words,
The words of the singers are the hours or min- 
 utes of the light or dark—but the words of  
 the maker of poems are the complete light  
 and dark,
The maker of poems settles justice, reality, im- 
 mortality,
His insight and power encircle things and the  
 human race,
He is the glory and extract, thus far, of things  
 and of the human race.
The singers do not beget—only the poet be- 
 gets,
  [ begin page 263 ]ppp.00237.271.jpg The singers are welcomed, understood, appear  
 often enough—but rare has the day been,  
 likewise the spot, of the birth of the maker  
 of poems,
Not every century, or every five centuries, has  
 contained such a day, for all its names.
The singers of successive hours of centuries may  
 have ostensible names, but the name of each  
 of them is one of the singers,
The name of each is, a heart-singer, eye-singer,  
 hymn-singer, law-singer, ear-singer, head- 
 singer, sweet-singer, wise-singer, droll- 
 singer, thrift-singer, sea-singer, wit-singer,  
 echo-singer, parlor-singer, love-singer, pas- 
 sion-singer, mystic-singer, weeping-singer,  
 fable-singer, item-singer, or something else.
All this time, and at all times, wait the words of  
 poems;
The greatness of sons is the exuding of the great- 
 ness of mothers and fathers,
The words of poems are the tuft and final applause  
 of science.
Divine instinct, breadth of vision, the law of  
 reason, health, rudeness of body, withdrawn- 
 ness, gaiety, sun-tan, air-sweetness—such  
 are the words of poems.
  [ begin page 264 ]ppp.00237.272.jpg The sailor and traveler underlie the maker of poems, The builder, geometer, mathematician, astronomer,  
 melodist, philosoph, chemist, anatomist,  
 spiritualist, language-searcher, geologist,  
 phrenologist, artist—all these underlie the  
 maker of poems.
The words of poems give you more than poems, They give you to form for yourself poems,  
 religions, politics, war, peace, behaviour,  
 histories, essays, romances, and every thing  
 else,
They balance ranks, colors, races, creeds, and the  
 sexes,
They do not seek beauty, they are sought —  
 forever touching them, or close upon them,  
 follows beauty, longing, fain, love-sick;
They are not the finish, but rather the outset, They bring none to his or her terminus, or to be  
 content and full,
Whom they take, they take into space, to behold  
 the birth of stars, to learn one of the  
 meanings,
To launch off with absolute faith—to sweep  
 through the ceaseless rings, and never be  
 quiet again.
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