from the teaching files
of children's author and educator
Barbara Jean Hicks
What American holiday is more celebratory than Independence Day, and what classic poem celebrates America and Americans more than Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing"? I love this poem from the 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass in part because it reflects my own beliefs about America--that we are a great country because we are home to a people who appreciate the opportunities afforded us in this land. Sing, America!
I HEAR AMERICA SINGING
Walt Whitman
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear;
Those of mechanics--each one singing his, as it should be,
blithe and strong;
The carpenter singing his, as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his, as he makes ready for work,
or leaves off work;
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat--
the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck;
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench--
the hatter singing as he stands;
The wood-cutter's song--the ploughboy's, on his way in the morning,
or at noon intermission, or at sundown;
The delicious singing of the mother--or of the young wife at work--
or of the girl sewing or washing--
Each singing what belongs to her, and to none else;
The day what belongs to the day--
At night, the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing, with open mouths, their strong melodious songs.
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