Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO BE AT ALL, by WALT WHITMAN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO BE AT ALL, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: To be at all - what is better than that?
Last Line: Between me and whatever I wanted.


To be at all -- what is better than that?
I think if there were nothing more developed, the clam in
its callous shell in the sand were august enough.
I am not in any callous shell;
I am cased with supple conductors, all over,
They take every object by the hand, and lead it within me;
They are thousands, each one with his entry to himself;
They are always watching with their little eyes, from my
head to my feet;
One no more than a point lets in and out of me such bliss
and magnitude,
I think I could lift the girder of the house away if it lay
between me and whatever I wanted.





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