Page:Leaves of Grass (1860).djvu/237

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Leaves of Grass.
229


12.

1.This night I am happy;
As I walk the beach where the old mother sways to
and fro, singing her savage and husky song,
As I watch the stars shining—I think a thought of
the clef of the universes, and of the future.

2.What can the future bring me more than I have?
Do you suppose I wish to enjoy life in other spheres?

3.I say distinctly I comprehend no better sphere than
this earth,
I comprehend no better life than the life of my body.

4.I do not know what follows the death of my body,
But I know well that whatever it is, it is best for me,
And I know well that whatever is really Me shall live
just as much as before.

5.I am not uneasy but I shall have good housing to
myself,
But this is my first—how can I like the rest any
better?
Here I grew up—the studs and rafters are grown
parts of me.

6.I am not uneasy but I am to be beloved by young and
old men, and to love them the same,

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