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Leaves of Grass.
267

32.O to realize space!
The plenteousness of all—that there are no bounds;
To emerge, and be of the sky—of the sun and moon,
and the flying clouds, as one with them.

33.O, while I live, to be the ruler of life—not a slave,
To meet life as a powerful conqueror,
No fumes—no ennui—no more complaints or scornful
criticisms.

34.O me repellent and ugly!
O to these proud laws of the air, the water, and
the ground, proving my interior Soul impregnable,
And nothing exterior shall ever take command of me.

35.O to attract by more than attraction!
How it is I know not—yet behold! the something
which obeys none of the rest,
It is offensive, never defensive—yet how magnetic
it draws.

36.O the joy of suffering!
To struggle against great odds! to meet enemies undaunted!
To be entirely alone with them! to find how much I
can stand!
To look strife, torture, prison, popular odium, death,
face to face!
To mount the scaffold! to advance to the muzzles of
guns with perfect nonchalance!
To be indeed a God!