The next poem to be quoted is “Song of the Redwood-Tree”, which is about the giant trees of the Pacific Coast, the incredibly tall trees that can reach up to 115,5 meters and that can live up to 2,200 years. In the poem there are the voices of dryads, wood nymphs and divinities that preside over trees, and of hamadryads, wood nymphs who only live as long as their trees. Clearly, the poem is their song of death as heard by the poet, since the woodcutters do not hear them crying. Except, the poet heard it, and translated it into common language. We quote here a passage from this song, the wood nymph’s song in italics, as it was composed by Whitman (from part 1):
.
WHITMAN:
Murmuring out of its myriad leaves,
Down from its lofty top rising two hundred feet high,
Out of its stalwart trunk and limbs, out of its foot-thick bark,
That chant of the seasons and time, chant not of the past only but the future.
.
You untold life of me,
And all you venerable and innocent joys,
Perennial hardy life of me with joys ‘mid rain and many a summer sun,
And the white snows and night and the wild winds;
O the great patient rugged joys, my soul’s strong joys unreck’d by man,
(For know I bear the soul befitting me, I too have consciousness, identity,
And all the rocks and mountains have, and all the earth,)
Joys of the life befitting me and brothers mine,
Our time, our term has come.
.
OUR RE-CREATION:
Murmurando desde sua miríade de folhas,
Do seu altivo topo se erguendo a duzentos pés de altura,
De seu tronco robusto e membros, de sua casca espessa,
Aquele canto das estações e tempo, canto não só do passado mas do futuro.
.
Tu minha vida inarrada,
E todos vós veneráveis e inocentes júbilos,
Minha vida resistente e perene com júbilos em meio à chuva e muitos sóis de verão,
E as brancas neves e noite e os ventos bravios;
Ah os grandes júbilos ásperos pacientes, os fortes júbilos de minha alma impensados pelo homem,
(Pois saibas que carrego a alma adequada a mim, também tenho consciência, identidade,
E todas as pedras e montanhas têm, e toda a terra,)
Júbilos da vida adequados a mim e meus irmãos,
Nosso tempo, nosso prazo chegou.
***
