Tuesday, April 05, 2005

A Poem by Walt Whitman

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I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contained,

I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condtion,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.


'Song of Myself' (written 1855) pt. 40


5 comments:

Unknown said...

Now I have the sudden urge to roll around in the grass.

Anonymous said...

So true. I love the way animals remind you that its the little things that count. I reckon my dog (chloe, nearly 16) lives one the most peaceful lives possible now she's apparently 100% deaf and 80% blind - she literally sleeps like a log.
mikeyboy

Nelly said...

I tried answering you this morning mquest but couldn't do it as there was some kind of internal server error (whatever that means) Anyways all I said was watch rolling around in that old grass if its damp because you could catch a chill. You are only human after all.

To Mikeyboy - hope you are well. One of Bert's simpler friends once enquired of him "Do they have dogs in England?" You'd be OK tho' for you live in Scotland.

Unknown said...

I wish it was cool outside. it is 92 Fahrenheit and if of the conversion chart I just Googled is right it is it is 33 celisus in southern California at the moment that is what the temputure guide on the back sign said. The weather website says 84 f 28.8 c. Rather warm for this time in early spring. I think I should roll around with the dog. I wonder what type of field of grass walt was looking at... I envision a meadow ...

Nelly said...

If it's cool weather you're looking for mquest you should come to County Antrim where meadows and horses abound. I think Walt would have liked it here.