Roots And Leaves Themselves Alone

Walt Whitman

   ROOTS and leaves themselves alone are these;
   Scents brought to men and women from the wild woods, and from the
         pond-side,
   Breast-sorrel and pinks of love--fingers that wind around tighter
         than vines,
   Gushes from the throats of birds, hid in the foliage of trees, as the
         sun is risen;
   Breezes of land and love--breezes set from living shores out to you
         on the living sea--to you, O sailors!
   Frost-mellow'd berries, and Third-month twigs, offer'd fresh to young
         persons wandering out in the fields when the winter breaks up,
   Love-buds, put before you and within you, whoever you are,
   Buds to be unfolded on the old terms;
   If you bring the warmth of the sun to them, they will open, and bring
         form, color, perfume, to you;
   If you become the aliment and the wet, they will become flowers,
         fruits, tall blanches and trees.                             10

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