by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)
I am the poet of the Body
Language: English
Available translation(s): ITA
I am the poet of the Body; And I am the poet of the Soul. The pleasures of heaven are with me, and the pains of hell are with me; The first I graft and increase upon myself -- the latter I translate into a new tongue. I am the poet of the woman the same as the man; And I say it is as great to be a woman as to be a man, And I say there is nothing greater than the mother of men. I chant the chant of dilation or pride; We have had ducking and deprecating about enough; I show that size is only development. Have you outstript the rest? Are you the President? It is a trifle -- they will more than arrive there, every one, and still pass on. I am he that walks with the tender and growing night; I call to the earth and sea, half-held by the night. Press close, bare-bosom'd night! Press close, magnetic, nourishing night! Night of south winds! night of the large few stars! Still, nodding night! mad, naked, summer night. Smile, O voluptuous, cool-breath'd earth! Earth of the slumbering and liquid trees; Earth of departed sunset! earth of the mountains, misty-topt! Earth of the vitreous pour of the full moon, just tinged with blue! Earth of shine and dark, mottling the tide of the river! Earth of the limpid gray of clouds, brighter and clearer for my sake! Far-swooping elbow'd earth! rich, apple-blossom'd earth! Smile, for your lover comes! Prodigal, you have given me love! Therefore I to you give love! O unspeakable, passionate love!
S. Sargon sets stanzas 7-8
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), no title, appears in Song of Myself, no. 21 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Geoffrey Allen (b. 1927), "Smile o voluptuous cool-breath'd earth", 2008 [ voice and piano ], from Two songs for a wedding, no. 1, note: the sung text begins with stanza 8 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Campbell-Tipton (1877 - 1921), "Rhapsodie", op. 32 no. 1, published 1913, also set in French (translation by Léon de Tinseau) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Benjamin Lees, né Benjamin George Lisniansky (1924 - 2010), "I am the poet of the Body", published 1965 [ soprano, tenor, chorus, and orchestra ], from Visions of Poets, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Homer Albert Norris (1860?5 - 1920), "I am the poet of the Body", published 1903 [ vocal trio for soprano, tenor, and baritone with piano ], from The Flight of the Eagle [sung text not yet checked]
- by Simon Sargon (b. 1938), "Nocturne", 1995, stanzas 7-8 [ baritone, horn, piano ], from A Clear Midnight: Six Songs set to Poems of Walt Whitman for Baritone, Horn, and Piano, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ralph E. Williams , "The Good Earth", published 1967 [ SATB chorus and optional piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Rapsodia", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-07
Line count: 29
Word count: 267