I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise;
Regardless of others, ever regardful of others,
Maternal as well as paternal, a child as well as a man,
Stuff’d with the stuff that is coarse, and stuff’d with the stuff that is fine; 325
One of the Great Nation, the nation of many nations, the smallest the same, and the largest the same;
A southerner soon as a northerner€”a planter nonchalant and hospitable, down by the Oconee I live;
A Yankee, bound by my own way, ready for trade, my joints the limberest joints on earth, and the sternest joints on earth;
A Kentuckian, walking the vale of the Elkhorn, in my deer-skin leggings€”a Louisianian or Georgian;
A boatman over lakes or bays, or along coasts€”a Hoosier, Badger, Buckeye; 330
At home on Kanadian snow-shoes, or up in the bush, or with fishermen off Newfoundland;
At home in the fleet of ice-boats, sailing with the rest and tacking;
At home on the hills of Vermont, or in the woods of Maine, or the Texan ranch;
Comrade of Californians€”comrade of free north-westerners, (loving their big proportions;)
Comrade of raftsmen and coalmen€”comrade of all who shake hands and welcome to drink and meat; 335
A learner with the simplest, a teacher of the thoughtfullest;
A novice beginning, yet experient of myriads of seasons;
Of every hue and caste am I, of every rank and religion;
A farmer, mechanic, artist, gentleman, sailor, quaker;
A prisoner, fancy-man, rowdy, lawyer, physician, priest. 340

I resist anything better than my own diversity;
I breathe the air, but leave plenty after me,
And am not stuck up, and am in my place.

(The moth and the fish-eggs are in their place;
The suns I see, and the suns I cannot see, are in their place; 345
The palpable is in its place, and the impalpable is in its place.)

17

These are the thoughts of all men in all ages and lands€”they are not original with me;
If they are not yours as much as mine, they are nothing, or next to nothing;
If they are not the riddle, and the untying of the riddle, they are nothing;
If they are not just as close as they are distant, they are nothing. 350

This is the grass that grows wherever the land is, and the water is;
This is the common air that bathes the globe.
Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson is often seen as a founder of American poetry, as is Whitman, whom you encountered earlier. I suggest you read her short poem #303 while thinking of Whitman’s work. Then read the rest of this Note.

Emily Dickinson Poem #303

The Soul selects her own Society €“
Then €” shuts the Door €“
To her divine Majority €“
Present no more €“

Unmoved €” she notes the Chariots €” pausing €“
At her low Gate €“
Unmoved €” an Emperor be kneeling
Upon her Mat €“

I’ve known her €” from an ample nation €“
Choose One €“
Then €” close the Valves of her attention €“
Like Stone €“