There was a child went forth every day, And the first object he look'd upon, that object he became, And that object became part of him for the day or… - Walt Whitman

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Engraved portrait of Walt Whitman

There was a child went forth every day,
And the first object he look'd upon, that object he became,
And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day,
Or for many years or stretching cycles of years.

The early lilacs became part of this child,
And grass and white and red morning glories, and white and red clover,
And the song of the phoebe-bird,
And the Third-month lambs and the sow's pink-faint litter, and the mare's foal and the cow's calf,
And the noisy brood of the barnyard or by the mire of the pond-side,
And the fish suspending themselves so curiously below there, and the beautiful curious liquid,
And the water-plants with their graceful flat heads, all became part of him.

English
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About Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American journalist and poet, most famous for his lifelong work on his book Leaves of Grass.

Biography information from Wikiquote · Portrait adapted from Wikimedia Commons, George Collins Cox / Adam Cuerden (Public domain / CC0)

Also Known As

Birth Name: Walter Whitman

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I conn'd old times, I sat studying at the feet of the great masters, Now if eligible O that the great masters might return and study me.

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