Page:Leaves of Grass (1860).djvu/39

And peruse manifold objects, no two alike, and every
one good,
The earth good, and the stars good, and their
adjuncts all good.

41.I am not an earth, nor an adjunct of an earth,
I am the mate and companion of people, all just as
immortal and fathomless as myself;
They do not know how immortal, but I know.

42.Every kind for itself and its own—for me mine, male
and female,
For me those that have been boys, and that love
women,
For me the man that is proud, and feels how it stings
to be slighted,
For me the sweetheart and the old maid—for me
mothers, and the mothers of mothers,
For me lips that have smiled, eyes that have shed
tears,
For me children, and the begetters of children.

43.Who need be afraid of the merge?
Undrape! you are not guilty to me, nor stale, nor
discarded,
I see through the broadcloth and gingham, whether
or no,
And am around, tenacious, acquisitive, tireless, and
can never be shaken away.

44.The little one sleeps in its cradle,
I lift the gauze and look a long time, and silently
brush away flies with my hand.