by Whitman · Cluster: Comradeship · Union · Hands Hand in Hand
Abstract
Self-portrait of the unadorned poet kissed by a Manhattanese comrade; the ‘salute of American comrades land and sea’; comradeship, the body, the common man.
Connections
Motifs: City, Sea Themes & Concepts: Comradeship, Body, Common Man
Testo integrale / Full text
Cluster: CALAMUS
Behold this swarthy face, these gray eyes, This beard, the white wool unclipt upon my neck, My brown hands and the silent manner of me without charm; Yet comes one a Manhattanese and ever at parting kisses me lightly on the lips with robust love, And I on the crossing of the street or on the ship’s deck give a kiss in return, We observe that salute of American comrades land and sea, We are those two natural and nonchalant persons.