1And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower,
2Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here translated:
3I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain,
4Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea,
5Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form'd, altogether changed,
6 and yet the same,
7I descend to lave the drouths, atomies, dust-layers of the globe,
8And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn;
9And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own
10 origin, and make pure and beautify it;
11(For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering,
12Reck'd or unreck'd. duly with love returns.)
1And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower,
2Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here translated:
3I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain,
4Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea,
5Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form'd, altogether changed,
6 and yet the same,
7I descend to lave the drouths, atomies, dust-layers of the globe,
8And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn;
9And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own
10 origin, and make pure and beautify it;
11(For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering,
12Reck'd or unreck'd. duly with love returns.)
And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower,
Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here translated:
I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain,
Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea,
Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form'd, altogether changed,
and yet the same,
I descend to lave the drouths, atomies, dust-layers of the globe,
And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn;
And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own
origin, and make pure and beautify it;
(For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering,
Reck'd or unreck'd. duly with love returns.)
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
Leaves of Grass (audio) — A full audio recording of Whitman's Leaves of Grass, read by multiple performers.
Walt Whitman Page (Academy of American Poets) — The Academy of American Poets website has information about Whitman's biography and notable works.
Walt Whitman Museum — Walt Whitman's birthplace in Huntington Station, NY is now a museum that you can visit.
The Science of the Water Cycle — NASA's education website describes the water cycle in detail, providing scientific context for the rain's description of its life cycle.
The Walt Whitman Archive — This digital archive contains copies of Whitman's original works, including letters and other hand-written documents, as well as biographical information, portraits, photos, and literary criticism.