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Walt Whitman


Give Me The Splendid, Silent Sun

Give me a field where the unmow'd grass grows;
Give me an arbor, give me the trellis'd grape;
Give me fresh corn and wheat--give me serene-moving animals, teaching
Mississippi, and I looking up at the stars;
walk undisturb'd;
Give me for marriage a sweet-breath'd woman, of whom I should never
Give me a perfect child--give me, away, aside from the noise of the
world, a rural, domestic life;
my own ears only; 10
Give me solitude--give me Nature--give me again, O Nature, your
primal sanities!
--These, demanding to have them, (tired with ceaseless excitement,
and rack'd by the war-strife;)
While yet incessantly asking, still I adhere to my city;
Where you hold me enchain'd a certain time, refusing to give me up;
Yet giving to make me glutted, enrich'd of soul--you give me forever

Keep your splendid, silent sun; 20
Give me faces and streets! give me these phantoms incessant and
endless along the trottoirs!
by the thousand!
Give me such shows! give me the streets of Manhattan!
Give me Broadway, with the soldiers marching--give me the sound of
the trumpets and drums!
(The soldiers in companies or regiments--some, starting away, flush'd
and reckless;
Some, their time up, returning, with thinn'd ranks--young, yet very
old, worn, marching, noticing nothing;) 30
--Give me the shores and the wharves heavy-fringed with the black
light procession!
Manhattan streets, with their powerful throbs, with the beating
drums, as now;
the sight of the wounded;)
Manhattan crowds, with their turbulent musical chorus--with varied
chorus, and light of the sparkling eyes;
Manhattan faces and eyes forever for me. 40

Submitted: Tuesday, December 31, 2002

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Comments about this poem (Give Me The Splendid, Silent Sun by Walt Whitman )

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  • Jane Moon (5/14/2009 1:12:00 PM)

    Here is the vivid contrast between the excitement of the city and richness of the countryside. Under the sun, the country seems filled with the essence of life, richness and plenty, peace and calm. The city, filled with noise and turbulence, exudes enticements, variety, passion, and activity. (Report) Reply

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