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W ALT W HITMAN 's Drum-Taps New York. 1865. 12mo. pp. 72. 2.

The leaf consists of two clipped scraps pasted together, and the upper part of the leaf is pasted to

Our images show the front of the leaf, that part of the back visible by lifting the lower part of the

A.MS. drafts.loc.02901xxx.00594for part in L of Gbetween 1867-1876poetryprose9 leaveshandwritten; One

There are also notes about other poems and the arrangement of Leaves of Grass. for part in L of G

write]about 1867prose1 leafhandwritten; This prose fragment, heavily revised, is almost certainly part

Leaves one and three used to form part of the same sheet of paper, and on the verso is another, unrelated

Leaves four and five also used to form part of the same sheet of paper (loc.05224), and on the verso

.; It is postmarked: CARRIER | JAN| 2 |1867 | 2 DEL.

His letter of December 2, 1866 was even more unreserved in its praise of Whitman.

is but a part.

2. TEARS! tears! tears!

2.

THE CENTENARIAN'S STORY.

SONGS BEFORE PARTING. CONTENTS.

2 The love of the Body of man or woman balks ac- count account —the body itself balks account; That of

I dare not desert the likes of you in other men and women, nor the likes of the parts of you; I believe

bones, and the marrow in the bones, The exquisite realization of health; O I say, these are not the parts

, All the governments, judges, gods, follow'd persons of the earth, These are contain'd in sex, as parts

shall be lawless, rude, illiterate—he shall be one condemn'd by others for deeds done; I will play a part

I will make divine magnetic lands, With the love of comrades, With the life-long love of comrades. 2

and the silent manner of me, with- out without charm; Yet comes one, a Manhattanese, and ever at parting

—No; But I record of two simple men I saw to-day, on the pier, in the midst of the crowd, parting the

part- ing parting of dear friends; The one to remain hung on the other's neck, and pas- sionately passionately

day; And the first object he look'd upon, that object he be- came became ; And that object became part

of him for the day, or a certain part of the day, or for many years, or stretching cycles of years.

The early lilacs became part of this child, And grass, and white and red morning-glories, and white and

The field-sprouts of Fourth-month and Fifth-month became part of him; Winter-grain sprouts, and those

of that child who went forth every day, and who now goes, and will always go forth every day. 2.

2. TEARS! tears! tears!

judge, or any juror, is equally criminal—and any reputable person is also—and the President is also. 2.

2.

spans them, and always has spann'd, and shall forever span them, and com- pactly compactly hold them. 2.

exception ; And henceforth I will go celebrate anything I see or am, And sing and laugh, and deny nothing. 2.

despite of people —Illustrates evil as well as good; How many hold despairingly yet to the models de- parted

how every fact serves, And how now, or at any time, each serves the exquisite transition of Death. 2.

the hermit thrush from the swamp-cedars, Solitary, singing in the West, I strike up for a New World. 2

wend—they never stop, Successions of men, Americanos, a hundred millions; One generation playing its part

, and passing on, Another generation playing its part, and passing on in its turn, With faces turn'd

let others ignore what they may; I make the poem of evil also—I commemorate that part also; I am myself

how superb and how divine is your body, or any part of it. 15 Whoever you are!

the wood, and become undis- guised undisguised and naked; I am mad for it to be in contact with me. 2

mer summer morning; How you settled your head athwart my hips, and gently turn'd over upon me, And parted

If I worship one thing more than another, it shall be the spread of my own body, or any part of it.

List to the story as my grandmother's father, the sailor, told it to me.

is but a part.

2 The love of the Body of man or woman balks ac- count account —the body itself balks account; That of

I dare not desert the likes of you in other men and women, nor the likes of the parts of you; I believe

bones, and the marrow in the bones, The exquisite realization of health; O I say, these are not the parts

, All the governments, judges, gods, follow'd persons of the earth, These are contain'd in sex, as parts

shall be lawless, rude, illiterate—he shall be one condemn'd by others for deeds done; I will play a part

I will make divine magnetic lands, With the love of comrades, With the life-long love of comrades. 2

2 Within me latitude widens, longitude lengthens; Asia, Africa, Europe, are to the east—America is pro

palaces, hovels, huts of barba- rians barbarians , tents of nomads, upon the surface; I see the shaded part

on one side, where the sleepers are sleeping—and the sun-lit part on the other side, I see the curious

I see the cities of the earth, and make myself at random a part of them; I am a real Parisian; I am a

day; And the first object he look'd upon, that object he be- came became ; And that object became part

of him for the day, or a certain part of the day, or for many years, or stretching cycles of years.

The early lilacs became part of this child, And grass, and white and red morning-glories, and white and

The field-sprouts of Fourth-month and Fifth-month became part of him; Winter-grain sprouts, and those

, They gave this child more of themselves than that; They gave him afterward every day—they became part

Leaves of Grass 2 2.

balk me, The pert apparel, the deform'd attitude, drunkenness, greed, premature death, all these I part

emblem, dabs of music; Fingers of the organist skipping staccato over the keys of the great organ. 2

Riches, opinions, politics, institutions, to part obedi- ently obediently from the path of one man or

and am all, and believe in all; I believe materialism is true, and spiritualism is true— I reject no part

Have I forgotten any part? Come to me, whoever and whatever, till I give you recognition.

simple, compact, well-join'd scheme—myself dis- integrated disintegrated , every one disintegrated, yet part

, floating with motionless wings, oscillating their bodies, I saw how the glistening yellow lit up parts

Lived the same life with the rest, the same old laugh- ing laughing , gnawing, sleeping, Play'd the part

play the part that looks back on the actor or actress!

toward eternity; Great or small, you furnish your parts toward the soul.

heroes and martyrs, And when all life, and all the souls of men and women are discharged from any part

of the earth, Then only shall liberty be discharged from that part of the earth, And the infidel and

here and hereafter, Taking all hints to use them—but swiftly leaping beyond them, A reminiscence sing. 2

ceaseless ferry, faces, and faces, and faces: I see them, and complain not, and am content with all. 2

In the best poems re-appears the body, man's or wo- man woman's , well-shaped, natural, gay, Every part

meanings; The charms that go with the mere looks of some men and women, are sayings and meanings also. 2

Leaves of Grass 2 2.

money-maker that plotted all day sleeps, And the enraged and treacherous dispositions—all, all sleep. 2

that loves unrequited, the money- maker money-maker , The actor and actress, those through with their parts

fish-shaped island, As I wended the shores I know, As I walk'd with that eternal self of me, seeking types. 2

utmost, a little wash'd-up drift, A few sands and dead leaves to gather, Gather, and merge myself as part

NOW lift me close to your face till I whisper, What you are holding is in reality no book, nor part of

flung out from the steeples of churches, and from all the public buildings and stores; The tearful parting—the

mother kisses her son—the son kisses his mother; (Loth is the mother to part—yet not a word does she

The Centenarian's Story THE CENTENARIAN'S STORY.

As wending, the crowds now part and disperse—but we, old man, Not for nothing have I brought you hither—we

eighty-five years a-gone, no mere parade receiv'd with applause of friends, But a battle, which I took part

in myself—aye, long ago as it is, I took part in it, Walking then this hill-top, this same ground.

It is well—a lesson like that, always comes good; I must copy the story, and send it eastward and west

2 For we cannot tarry here, We must march my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger, We, the youthful

globe uprisen around me; Yet there with my soul I fed—I fed content, super- cilious supercilious . 2

his field or gathering his grain; So fierce you whirr and pound, you drums—so shrill you bugles blow. 2

to me you bring; Lilac blooming perennial, and drooping star in the west, And thought of him I love. 2

Fallen cold and dead. 2 O captain! my captain!

days, that forgive not, I dispense from this side judgments inexorable, without the least remorse. 2

indescribable look; Of the dead on their backs, with arms extended wide, I dream, I dream, I dream. 2

finish'd Sabbath, On the pavement here—and there beyond, it is looking, Down a new-made double grave. 2

conqueror—yet treacher- ous treacherous lip-smiles everywhere, And Death and infidelity at every step.) 2

west-bred face, To him the hereditary countenance bequeath'd, both mother's and father's, His first parts

employments, are you and me, Past, present, future, are you and me. 18 I swear I dare not shirk any part

of myself, Not any part of America, good or bad, Not the promulgation of Liberty—not to cheer up slaves

with the Power's pulsations—and the charm of my theme was upon me, Till the tissues that held me, parted

Leaves of Grass 2 2.