Leaves of Grass (1882)/Drum-Taps/From Paumanok Starting I Fly like a Bird

by Walt Whitman

FROM PAUMANOK STARTING I FLY LIKE A BIRD.

From Paumanok starting I fly Hke a bird,
Around and around to soar to sing the idea of all,
To the north betaking myself to sing there arctic songs, To Kanada till I absorb Kanada in myself, to Michigan then,
To Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, to sing their songs, (they are inimitable;)
Then to Ohio and Indiana to sing theirs, to Missouri and Kansas and Arkansas to sing theirs,
To Tennessee and Kentucky, to the Carolinas and Georgia to sing theirs,
To Texas and so along up toward California, to roam accepted everywhere;
To sing first, (to the tap of the war-drum if need be,)
The idea of all, of the Western world one and inseparable,
And then the song of each member of these States.