All about Walt Whitman

5 CONCLUSION (Part 14)

“A Song of the Rolling Earth” is about nature, the earth, the Word, as it is in the Bible, for example, in The Gospel according to John, 1:1, The Word Made Flesh: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word made Flesh is the Word that creates, the Word that becomes solid matter. This is what Whitman sings in this poem, that the real words are the bodies and souls of humanity, as we can see in this passage from part 1 of this song:

.

WHITMAN:

Air, soil, water, fire—those are words,
I myself am a word with them—my qualities interpenetrate with theirs—my        name is nothing to them,
Though it were told in the three thousand languages, what would air, soil,           water, fire, know of my name?
.

A healthy presence, a friendly or commanding gesture, are words, sayings,         meanings,
The charms that go with the mere looks of some men and women, are     sayings and meanings also.
.

The workmanship of souls is by those inaudible words of the earth,
The masters know the earth’s words and use them more than audible words.
.

Amelioration is one of the earth’s words,
The earth neither lags nor hastens,
It has all attributes, growths, effects, latent in itself from the jump,
It is not half beautiful only, defects and excrescences show just as much as        perfections show.
.

OUR RE-CREATION:

Ar, solo, água, fogo—essas são palavras,

Eu mesmo sou uma palavra com elas—minhas qualidades interpenetram com as delas—meu nome é nada pra elas,

Embora fosse dito nos três mil idiomas, o que o ar, a terra, a água, o fogo, saberiam do meu nome?

.

Uma presença saudável, um gesto amável ou imperativo, são palavras, provérbios, significados,

Os encantos que acompanham as meras expressões de alguns homens e mulheres, são também provérbios e significados.

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O artesanato das almas é feito pelas palavras inaudíveis da terra,

Os mestres conhecem as palavras da terra e as usam mais que palavras audíveis.

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Melhoria é uma das palavras da terra,

A terra não se atrasa nem se apressa,

Tem todos os atributos, crescimentos, efeitos, latentes em si mesma desde o princípio,

Não é só meio linda, defeitos e excrescências mostram tanto quanto perfeições.

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