"I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend July 4, 2017   I Hear America Singing   Walt Whitman

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear, Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and              strong, The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam, The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work, The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand            singing on the steamboat deck, The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he      stands, The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or        at noon intermission or at sundown, The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of        the girl sewing or washing, Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else, The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows,          robust, friendly, Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.              This poem is in the public domain. About This Poem   "I Hear America Singing" was published in Leaves of Grass (David McKay, 1891-92).   Walt Whitman was born in 1819 in West Hills, Long Island, New York. He worked as a printer, teacher, and journalist in New York City throughout his life. In 1855, Whitman self-published Leaves of Grass, which he continued to revise throughout his life. He died in 1892.   Poetry by Whitman   Walt Whitman: Poetry and Prose (Library of America, 1982) "Wild Nights—Wild Nights! (249)" by Emily Dickinson "Teach me I am forgotten by the dead" by Ralph Waldo Emerson "My life has been the poem I would have writ" by Henry David Thoreau Help Support Poem-a-Day   If you value Poem-a-Day, please consider a monthly donation or one-time gift to help make it possible. Poem-a-Day is the only digital series publishing new, previously unpublished work by today's poets each weekday morning. The free series, which also features a curated selection of classic poems on weekends, reaches 450,000+ readers daily. Thank you! Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038