Page:Leaves of Grass (1860).djvu/271

Rh Or, another time, fishing for rock-fish in Chesapeake
 * Bay—I one of the brown-faced crew;

Or, another time, trailing for blue-fish off Paumanok,
 * I stand with braced body.

My left foot is on the gunwale—my right arm throws
 * the coils of slender rope,

In sight around me the quick veering and darting of
 * fifty skiffs, my companions.

O boating on the rivers! The voyage down the Niagara, (the St. Lawrence,)—
 * the superb scenery—the steamers,

The ships sailing—the Thousand Islands—the occasional
 * timber-raft, and the raftsmen with long-reaching
 * sweep-oars,

The little huts on the rafts, and the stream of smoke
 * when they cook supper at evening.

O something pernicious and dread! Something far away from a puny and pious life! Something unproved! Something in a trance! Something escaped from the anchorage, and driving
 * free.

O to work in mines, or forging iron! Foundry casting—the foundry itself—the rude high
 * roof—the ample and shadowed space,

The furnace—the hot liquid poured out and running.

O the joys of the soldier! To feel the presence of a brave general! to feel his
 * sympathy!

To behold his calmness! to be warmed in the rays of
 * his smile!