A Little Walt Whitman for September 11

[QC]

I am the mash'd fireman with breast-bone broken,
Tumbling walls buried me in their debris,
Heat and smoke I inspired, I heard the yelling shouts of my comrades,
I heard the distant click of their picks and shovels,
They have clear'd the beams away, they tenderly lift me forth.

I lie in the night air in my red shirt, the pervading hush is for my sake,
Painless after all I lie exhausted but not so unhappy,
White and beautiful are the faces around me, the heads are bared of their fire-caps,
The kneeling crowd fades with the light of the torches.

Walt Whitman, Song of Myself (1881)

[CherokeeDem]

1. Oh my....

So beautiful and so appropriate.

Thank you very much...

[QC]

2. You are so very welcome. n/t

[Boom Sound 416]

3. Thank you

And thank you to
Daniel Libretti and Kevin O'rourke of Rescue 2 NYFD who perished on this day

Kevin O'rourke only became a fire fighter because he was saved by one as a child.

[BrotherIvan]

8. ..

[nolabear]

4. What incredible heart that man had. Thank you for sharing it.

[QC]

9. I think he was one of the greatest Americans,

whether poet or whoever, period.

[sufrommich]

5. Beautiful remembrance for the NYFD. nt

[panader0]

6. Good find.

[QC]

11. Thanks. n/t

[Romulox]

7. A tear... nt

[Starry Messenger]

10. k&r

Thank you, QC.

[Rowdyboy]

12. A magnificent piece that I've never read before....

Thank you so much for posting

[bvar22]

13. Walt Whitman !

My Wife & I have an old leather bound edition of Leaves of Grass from which we read aloud to each other on pleasant evenings.

This work was part of our motivation to Move-to-the-Woods in 2006.
It is wonderful companionship.

Always a Rec for Walt Whitman and Leaves of Grass,
and the piece cited is very appropriate for today.

[senseandsensibility]

14. Thank you.

Very appropriate. For some reason, I have been very emotional lately and this brought me to tears. I don't enjoy being moved like this, but we need to let ourselves feel. Life is not a game.