Leaves of Grass
Walt Whitman
One of the greatest collections of American poetry is also the gayest. Walt Whitman’s 1885 masterpiece is not only an epic ode to the wonders of the natural world and manifest destiny, but also celebrates (or “sings of”) the sensual qualities of “the manly love of comrades.” “We Two Boys Together Clinging” from the Calamus section of the collection is one of the greatest examples of the overt sexuality and beauty in Whitman’s work.
We two boys together clingingOne the other never leavingUp and down the roads going, North and South excursions making,Power enjoying, elbows stretching, fingers clutching,Arm’d and fearless, eating, drinking, sleeping, loving,No law less than ourselves owning, sailing, soldiering, thieving, threatening,Misers, menials, priests alarming, air breathing, water drinking, on the turf or the sea-beach dancing,Cities wrenching, ease scorning, statutes mocking, feebleness chasing,Fulfilling our foray.
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