Leaves of Grass First and Death-Bed Editions (101 page)

 

Vocalism,
p. 526: The 1881 poem is a conflation of two earlier works. “Chants Democratic. 12” of 1860 contributed the first stanza; ”Leaves of Grass. 21” of 1860 is the source of the second. Both stanzas lost lines in the fusion of 1881.

 

 

To Him That Was Crucified,
p. 528: First published in the “Messenger Leaves” cluster of the 1860 edition, the poem retained its original title and most of its form through republications.

 

You Felons on Trial in Courts,
p. 528: “Leaves of Grass. 13” in 1860, the poem was reduced by several lines and received its present title in 1867.

 

Laws for Creations,
p. 529: “Chants Democratic. 13” in 1860 and ”Leaves of Grass. 3” in 1867, the poem gained its present title in 1871. After 1860 the poem was shortened by several lines.

 

To a Common Prostitute,
p. 530: The poem appeared under this title as one of the “Messenger Leaves” in the 1860 edition of
Leaves of Grass.
It was not revised for future publications.

 

I Was Looking a Long While,
p. 530: “Chants Democratic. 19” in 1860, the poem received its current title in 1867 and underwent only minor revisions.

 

Thought,
p. 531: “Thoughts. 3” in the 1860 edition, the poem became ”Thought“ in 1871.

 

Miracles, p. 531: “Poem of Perfect Miracles” in 1856 and “Leaves of Grass. 8” in 1860, the poem took its present title in 1867. Revisions included shortening the poem by eleven lines for the 1881 edition.

 

 

Sparkles from the Wheel,
p. 532: The poem possessed this title and text when it was first published in
Passage to India
(1871).

 

To a Pupil,
p. 533: The poem had this title and text upon its first appearance in the “Messenger Leaves” cluster of
Leaves of Grass
(1860).

Unfolded Out of the Folds,
p. 533: First published in
Leaves of Grass
(1856) as “Poem of Women,” the poem received its present title and final revisions for
Leaves of Grass
(1871).

 

What Am I After All,
p. 534: “Leaves of Grass. 22” in 1860 and ”Leaves of Grass. 4” in the 1867 annex “Songs before Parting,” the poem gained its present title in
Passage to India
(1871).

 

Kosmos,
p. 534: Published in
Leaves of Grass
(186o) under its current title, the poem was subject to minor revisions for its 1867 republication.

 

Others May Praise What They Like,
p. 535: Published under this title in
Drum-Taps
(1865), the poem underwent minor revisions before achieving its final form in 1881.

 

Who Learns My Lesson Complete?,
p. 535: The eleventh of the twelve original poems in the 1855 edition, the poem became “20—Lesson Poem” in 1856, “Leaves of Grass. 11” in 1860, and ”Leaves of Grass. 3” in 1867, and it achieved its current title in
Passage to India
(1871). It was heavily revised, especially between the 1855 and 1860 editions.

 

Tests,
p. 537: Published in this form and with this title in
Leaves of Grass
(1860).

 

The Torch,
p. 537: First published under this title in
Drum-Taps
(1865), the poem was subject to very minor revision before achieving its final form in 1871.

 

O Star of France
(1870-71), p. 537: First published in
The Galaxy
in June 1871, the poem was included in
As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free and Other Poems
(1872), reprinted in
Two Rivulets
(1876), and revised in
Leaves of Grass
(1881).

 

The Ox-tamer,
p. 539: Published in the
New York Daily Graphic
in December 1874, the poem appeared under its current title in Two
Rivulets
(1876) and achieved its final form for
Leaves of Grass
(1881).

An Old Man’s Thought of School. For the Inauguration of a Public School, Camden, New Jersey,
1874, p. 540: Published in the New York
Daily Graphic
of November 1874, the poem was included in Two
Rivulets
(1876) and revised for inclusion in
Leaves of Grass
(1881).

 

Wandering at Morn,
p. 540: Published in the
New York Daily Graphic
in March 1873 as “The Singing Thrush,” the poem was published in
Two Rivulets
(1876) and under its present title in
Leaves of Grass
(1881).

 

Italian Music in Dakota,
p. 541: This poem was new to the 1881 edition of
Leaves of Grass.

 

With All Thy Gifts,
p. 542: Published in the
New York Daily Graphic
of March 1873 under this title, and reprinted in
Two Rivulets
(1876) and
Leaves of Grass
(1881).

 

My Picture-Gallery,
p. 542: This poem has its beginnings in a pre-1855 notebook entitled “Pictures.” First published in
The American
on October 30, 1880, the poem was published in
Leaves of Grass
(1881).

 

The Prairie States,
p. 542: The poem was first published in
Leaves of Grass
(1881), though the manuscript of the poem was printed in the
Art Autograph
of May 1880.

 

Proud Music of the Storm,
p. 543: First published in the
Atlantic Monthly
of February 1869, the poem was included in
Passage to India
(1871) and
Two Rivulets
(1876) before becoming part of the “Autumn Rivulets” cluster of
Leaves of Grass
(1881).

 

Passage to India,
p. 549: First published as the title piece to
Passage to India
(1871), the poem appeared in
Leaves of Grass
1871 and 1872 and in
Two Rivulets
(1876) before its inclusion in “Autumn Rivulets” in 1881. The poem was lightly revised after 1871.

 

Prayer of Columbus,
p. 558: First published in
Harper’s
of March 1874, the poem was included in
Two Rivulets
(1876) and underwent final revisions for its publication in
Leaves of Grass
(1881).

The
Sleepers,
p. 560: See note to “The Sleepers” (p. 109), above.

 

Transpositions,
p. 570: This poem is constructed of three lines taken from “Poem of the Propositions of Nakedness” in the 1856 edition (lines 46, 44, and 22).

 

To Think of Time,
p. 570: Originally the third of the twelve untitled poems in the 1855 edition, this poem was heavily revised before appearing in this version in 1881. Entitled “Burial Poem” in 1856 and “Burial” in 1860 and 1867, it achieved its current title in
Passage to India
(1871). Stanza numbers were added in 1860, section numbers in 1867.

 

Whispers of Heavenly Death,
p. 577: Whitman first used this title for a cluster of fifteen poems in
Passage to India
(1871); for the 1881 edition of
Leaves of Grass,
he included five more poems to make up the current eighteen.

 

Darest Thou Now O Soul,
p. 577: Whitman published a series of five poems in the
Broadway Magazine
of October 1868, together entitled “Whispers of Heavenly Death.” In order, the current titles of the poems as they appear in this cluster are: “Whispers of Heavenly Death”; “Darest Thou Now O Soul”; “A Noiseless Patient Spider”; “The Last Invocation”; and “Pensive and Faltering.” “Whispers of Heavenly Death” was included in
Passage to India
(1871) and achieved its final form in the 1881 edition of
Leaves of Grass.

 

 

Whispers of Heavenly Death, p. 577: See note to “Darest Thou Now O Soul,” above. The poem remained unchanged from its inclusion in Passage to India (1871) to its 1881 incarnation here.

 

Chanting the Square Deific,
p. 578: Originally written for
Sequel to Drum-Taps
(1865-1866), this poem was lightly revised before appearing in its final version in 1881.

 

Of Him I Love Day and Night,
p. 580: Originally “Calamus. 17,” the poem was retitled “Of Him I Love Day and Night” for the 1867 edition, with minor revisions made to its text between its 1860 and 1871 publications.

 

Yet, Yet, Ye Downcast Hours,
p. 581: The poem of three stanzas and with the current title first appeared in the original “Whispers of Heavenly Death” cluster of
Passage to India
(1871). The second and third stanzas have their root in sections five and six of the 1860 poem “Debris.”

 

As if a Phantom Caress’d Me,
p. 582: Like “Yet, Yet, Ye Downcast Hours,” this poem has roots in the 1860 poem “Debris” (the final section). “As if a Phantom Caress’d Me” took its final title and form in 1867.

 

Assurances,
p. 582: First appearing as the sixteen-line “Faith Poem” in 1856, the poem was revised for the 1860 and 1867 editions before appearing in its final form in the “Whispers of Heavenly Death” cluster in
Passage to India
(1871).

 

Quicksand Years,
p. 583: First published in
Drum-Taps
(1865), the poem took its final title and form in the “Whispers of Heavenly Death” cluster of
Passage to India
(1871).

 

That Music Always Round Me,
p. 583: “Calamus. 21” in 1860, the poem took on its present form and title in 1867, and appeared in the cluster ”Whispers of Heavenly Death“ in
Passage to India
(1871).

 

What Ship Puzzled at Sea,
p. 584: The first four lines of “Calamus. 31” in 1860, the poem was published in 1867, 1871, and 1876, but assumed its present title only for the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass.

 

 

A Noiseless Patient Spider,
p. 584: One of the five poems published in the
Broadway Magazine
of October 1868 (see above note to “Darest Thou Now O Soul,” p. 577), the poem was included in
Passage to India
(1871) and underwent its final revisions for the 1881 edition of
Leaves of Grass.

O Living Always, Always Dying, p. 584: “Calamus. 27” in 1860, the poem took its present title and form in 1867.

 

To One Shortly to Die,
p. 585: Published with the current title in
Leaves of Grass
(1860), the poem achieved its final form in
Passage to India
(1871).

 

Night on the Prairies,
p. 585: “Leaves of Grass. 15” in 1860 and ”Leaves of Grass. 3” in 1867, the poem achieved its current title and form in
Passage to India
(1871).

 

Thought,
p. 586: This poem was the fifth in a series of poems entitled “Thoughts” in 1860 and 1867. It was first included in the cluster “Whispers of Heavenly Death” in 1881.

 

The Last Invocation,
p. 587: One of the five poems published in the
Broadway Magazine
of October 1868 (see above note to “Darest Thou Now O Soul,” p. 577), the poem was included in
Passage to India
(1871),
Leaves of Grass
(1872),
Two Rivulets
(1876),
and Leaves of Grass
(1881) without revisions.

 

As I Watch’d the Ploughman Ploughing,
p. 587: Published with this title and in its final form in
Passage to India
(1871).

 

Pensive and Faltering,
p. 587: One of the five poems published in the
Broadway Magazine
of October 1868 (see above note to “Darest Thou Now O Soul,” p. 577), the poem was included in
Passage to India
(1871),
Leaves of Grass
(1872),
Two Rivulets
(1876), and
Leaves
of Grass (1881).

 

Thou Mother with Thy Equal Brood,
p. 588: This work has its beginnings as “As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free,” a commencement poem Whitman delivered at Dartmouth College on June 26, 1872. He published this poem and six others the same year, in a small volume of the same title; in 1876 the cluster “As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free” was published as part of
Two Rivulets.
The poem was revised, expanded, and given the title “Thou Mother with Thy Equal Brood” in
Leaves of Grass
(1881).

A Paumanok Picture,
p. 594: These seven lines first became a poem for the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass. From
Leaves of Grass
(1856) to
Leaves of Grass
(1876), they served as the eighth canto of “Salut au Monde.”

 

 

From Noon to Starry Night,
p. 595: This cluster of twenty-two poems was new to the 1881 edition of
Leaves of Grass,
as was the “Autumn Rivulets” cluster. Five of the poems are new to
Leaves of
Grass, and the others are taken from seven different editions, though a majority of them were written in the 1870s.

 

Thou Orb Aloft Full-Dazzling,
p. 595: First published in
The American
on June 4, 1881, as “A Summer Invocation,” the poem was published with its current title in
Leaves of Grass
(1881).

 

Faces,
p. 596: This poem was originally the sixth of the twelve poems in
Leaves of Grass
(1855)‘ “Poem of Faces” in 1856, “A Leaf of Faces” in 1867, and finally “Faces” in 1881, it achieved its final form for the 1881 edition.

 

 

The Mystic Trumpeter,
p. 600: First published in
Kansas Magazine
in February 1872, the poem was one of seven poems in the 1872 annex “As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free” (1872). It appeared in its final form in the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass.