Walt Whitman - 3 Very Short Poems (1860-67)

Forgotten Poems #47: Happy Birthday Walt!!

Walt Whitman isn’t exactly ‘forgotten’, but much of his poetry has been. Today, Whitman is typically remembered for his grandiose, often bombastic, cosmic poems, and his strident, declarative tone. However, he also wrote numerous very short, more intimate poems, seldom discussed or quoted. These three in particular are among my personal favourites—crystalline, but casual, and full of tenderness;

  
               —: To Old Age :—

       I see in you the estuary that enlarges and spreads itself
            grandly as it pours in the great sea.
  

 
              —: Mother & Babe :—

       I see the sleeping babe, nestling the breast of its mother;
       The sleeping mother and babe—hush'd, I study them long and long.
 

  
              —: A Farm Picture :—

       Through the ample open door of the peaceful country barn,
       A sunlit pasture field, with cattle and horses feeding.
 

This version of the poem comes from the 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass. Whitman had added another line by the 1871 edition;

 
              —: A Farm Picture :—

       Through the ample open door of the peaceful country barn,
       A sun-lit pasture field, with cattle and horses feeding;
       And haze, and vista, and the far horizon, fading away.
 

While I love both, there is something special about the original. It leaves more of the poem unsaid. Not always what is needed, but perhaps in this case? It doesn’t really matter I suppose. We have both. But as poets we are forced to make decisions about editing poems all the time. So it can be useful to ask ourselves: if we had to choose? And in this case, if I had to choose, I would choose the first version. Hands down. What about you? If you had to?

Alrighty, that’s it for Forgotten Poets today. Happy birthday Walt! So long, and thanks for all the poems.

 
 
                     xoxo
                      dw
 

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