Out Of The Rolling Ocean, The Crowd

Walt Whitman


   OUT of the rolling ocean, the crowd, came a drop gently to me,
   Whispering, I love you, before long I die,
   I have travel'd a long way, merely to look on you, to touch you,
   For I could not die till I once look'd on you,
   For I fear'd I might afterward lose you.


   (Now we have met, we have look'd, we are safe;
   Return in peace to the ocean, my love;
   I too am part of that ocean, my love--we are not so much separated;
   Behold the great rondure--the cohesion of all, how perfect!
   But as for me, for you, the irresistible sea is to separate us,    10
   As for an hour, carrying us diverse--yet cannot carry us diverse for
         ever;
   Be not impatient--a little space--Know you, I salute the air, the
         ocean and the land,
   Every day, at sundown, for your dear sake, my love.)

Index + Blog :

Poetry Archive Index | Blog : Poem of the Day