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Read more poems by Walt Whitman: Walt Whitman Poems at Poetry X.

Had I the choice to tally greatest bards,
To limn their portraits, stately, beautiful, and emulate at will,
Homer with all his wars and warriors--Hector, Achilles, Ajax,
Or Shakespeare's woe-entangled Hamlet, Lear, Othello--Tennyson's
        fair ladies,
Meter or wit the best, or choice conceit to wield in perfect rhyme,
        delight of singers;
These, these, O sea, all these I'd gladly barter,
Would you the undulation of one wave, its trick to me transfer,
Or breathe one breath of yours upon my verse,
And leave its odor there.

Added: 16 Jun 2002 | Last Read: 8 Sep 2008 12:15 AM | Viewed: 9435 times

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