1
I sing the body electric，
The armies of those I love engirth me and I engirth them，
They will not let me off till I go with them， respond to them，
And discorrupt them， and charge them full with the charge of the soul.
Was it doubted that those who corrupt1 their own bodies conceal2 themselves？
And if those who defile3 the living are as bad as they who defile the dead？
And if the body does not do fully4 as much as the soul？ And if the body
were not the soul， what is the soul？
2
The love of the body of man or woman balks5 account， the body itself
balks account，
That of the male is perfect， and that of the female is perfect.
The expression of the face balks account，
But the expression of a well-made man appears not only in his face，
It is in his limbs and joints6 also， it is curiously7 in the joints of
his hips8 and wrists，
It is in his walk， the carriage of his neck， the flex9 of his waist
and knees， dress does not hide him，
The strong sweet quality he has strikes through the cotton and broadcloth，
To see him pass conveys as much as the best poem， perhaps more，
You linger to see his back， and the back of his neck and shoulder-side.
The sprawl10 and fulness of babes， the bosoms12 and heads of women， the
folds of their dress， their style as we pass in the street， the
contour of their shape downwards13，
The swimmer naked in the swimming-bath， seen as he swims through
the transparent14 green-shine， or lies with his face up and rolls
silently to and from the heave of the water，
The bending forward and backward of rowers in row-boats， the
horse-man in his saddle，
Girls， mothers， house-keepers， in all their performances，
The group of laborers15 seated at noon-time with their open
dinner-kettles， and their wives waiting，
The female soothing16 a child， the farmer's daughter in the garden or
cow-yard，
The young fellow hosing corn， the sleigh-driver driving his six
horses through the crowd，
The wrestle17 of wrestlers， two apprentice-boys， quite grown， lusty，
good-natured， native-born， out on the vacant lot at sundown
after work，
The coats and caps thrown down， the embrace of love and resistance，
The upper-hold and under-hold， the hair rumpled18 over and blinding the eyes；
The march of firemen in their own cosplaytumes， the play of masculine
muscle through clean-setting trowsers and waist-straps，
The slow return from the fire， the pause when the bell strikes
suddenly again， and the listening on the alert，
The natural， perfect， varied19 attitudes， the bent20 head， the curv'd
neck and the counting；
Such-like I loveI loosen myself， pass freely， am at the mother's
breast with the little child，
Swim with the swimmers， wrestle with wrestlers， march in line with
the firemen， and pause， listen， count.
3
I knew a man， a common farmer， the father of five sons，
And in them the fathers of sons， and in them the fathers of sons.
This man was a wonderful vigor21， calmness， beauty of person，
The shape of his head， the pale yellow and white of his hair and
beard， the immeasurable meaning of his black eyes， the richness
and breadth of his manners，
These I used to go and visit him to see， he was wise also，
He was six feet tall， he was over eighty years old， his sons were
massive， clean， bearded， tan-faced， handsome，
They and his daughters loved him， all who saw him loved him，
They did not love him by allowance， they loved him with personal
love，
He drank water only， the blood show'd like scarlet22 through the
clear-brown skin of his face，
He was a frequent gunner and fisher， he sail'd his boat himself， he
had a fine one presented to him by a ship-joiner， he had
fowling-pieces presented to him by men that loved him，
When he went with his five sons and many grand-sons to hunt or fish，
you would pick him out as the most beautiful and vigorous of
the gang，
You would wish long and long to be with him， you would wish to sit
by him in the boat that you and he might touch each other.
4
I have perceiv'd that to be with those I like is enough，
To sTOP in company with the rest at evening is enough，
To be surrounded by beautiful， curious， breathing， laughing flesh is enough，
To pass among them or touch any one， or rest my arm ever so lightly round
his or her neck for a moment， what is this then？
I do not ask any more delight， I
swim in it as in a sea.
There is something in staying close to men and women and looking on them，
and in the contact and odor of them， that pleases the soul well，
All things please the soul， but these please the soul well.
5
This is the female form，
A pine nimbus exhales23 from it from head to foot，
It attracts with fierce undeniable attraction，
I am drawn24 by its breath as if I were no more than a helpless vapor25，
all falls aside but myself and it，
Books， art， religion， time， the visible and solid earth， and what
was expected of heaven or fear'd of hell， are now consumed，
Mad filaments26， ungovernable shoots play out of it， the response
likewise ungovernable，
Hair， bosom11， hips， bend of legs， negligent27 falling hands all
diffused29， mine too diffused，
Ebb30 stung by the flow and flow stung by the ebb， love-flesh swelling31
and deliciously aching，
Limitless limpid32 jets of love hot and enormous， quivering jelly of
love， white-blow and delirious33 nice，
Bridegroom night of love working surely and softly into the
prostrate34 dawn，
Undulating into the willing and yielding day，
Lost in the cleave35 of the clasping and sweet-flesh'd day.
This the nucleusafter the child is born of woman， man is born
of woman，
This the bath of birth， this the merge36 of small and large， and the
outlet37 again.
Be not ashamed women， your privilege encloses the rest， and is the
exit of the rest，
You are the gates of the body， and you are the gates of the soul.
The female contains all qualities and tempers them，
She is in her place and moves with perfect balance，
She is all things duly veil'd， she is both passive and active，
She is to conceive daughters as well as sons， and sons as well as
daughters.
As I see my soul reflected in Nature，
As I see through a mist， One with inexpressible completeness，
sanity38， beauty，
See the bent head and arms folded over the breast， the Female I see.
6
The male is not less the soul nor more， he too is in his place，
He too is all qualities， he is action and power，
The flush of the known universe is in him，
Scorn becomes him well， and appetite and defiance39 become him well，
The wildest largest passions， bliss40 that is utmost， sorrow that is
utmost become him well， pride is for him，
The full-spread pride of man is calming and excellent to the soul，
Knowledge becomes him， he likes it always， he brings every thing to
the test of himself，
Whatever the survey， whatever the sea and the sail he strikes
soundings at last only here，
（Where else does he strike soundings except here？）
The man's body is sacred and the woman's body is sacred，
No matter who it is， it is sacredis it the meanest one in the
laborers' gang？
Is it one of the dull-faced immigrants just landed on the wharf41？
Each belongs here or anywhere just as much as the well-off， just as
much as you，
Each has his or her place in the procession.
（All is a procession，
The universe is a procession with measured and perfect motion.）
Do you know so much yourself that you call the meanest ignorant？
Do you suppose you have a right to a good sight， and he or she has
no right to a sight？
Do you think matter has cohered42 together from its diffuse28 float， and
the soil is on the surface， and water runs and vegetation sprouts43，
For you only， and not for him and her？
7
A man's body at auction44，
（For before the war I often go to the slave-mart and watch the sale，）
I help the auctioneer， the sloven45 does not half know his business.
Gentlemen look on this wonder，
Whatever the bids of the bidders46 they cannot be high enough for it，
For it the globe lay preparing quintillions of years without one animal or plant，
For it the revolving47 cycles truly and steadily48 roll'd.
In this head the all-baffling brain，
In it and below it the makings of heroes.
Examine these limbs， red， black， or white， they are cunning in tendon and nerve，
They shall be stript that you may see them.
Exquisite49 senses， life-lit eyes， pluck， volition50，
Flakes51 of breast-muscle， pliant52 backbone53 and neck， flesh not flabby， good-sized
arms and legs，
And wonders within there yet.
Within there runs blood，
The same old blood！ the same red-running blood！
There swells54 and jets a heart， there all passions， desires， reachings，
aspirations55，
（Do you think they are not there because they are not express'd in
parlors56 and lecture-rooms？）
This is not only one man， this the father of those who shall be fathers
in their turns，
In him the start of populous57 states and rich republics，
Of him countless58 immortal59 lives with countless embodiments and enjoyments60.
How do you know who shall come from the offspring of his offspring
through the centuries？
（Who might you find you have come from yourself， if you could trace
back through the centuries？）
8
A woman's body at auction，
She too is not only herself， she is the teeming61 mother of mothers，
She is the bearer of them that shall grow and be mates to the mothers.
Have you ever loved the body of a woman？
Have you ever loved the body of a man？
Do you not see that these are exactly the same to all in all nations and
times all over the earth？
If any thing is sacred the human body is sacred，
And the glory and sweet of a man is the token of manhood untainted，
And in man or woman a clean， strong， firm-fibred body， is more beautiful
than the most beautiful face.
Have you seen the fool that corrupted62 his own live body？ or the fool
that corrupted her own live body？
For they do not conceal themselves， and cannot conceal themselves.
9
O my body！ I dare not desert the likes of you in other men and women，
nor the likes of the parts of you，
I believe the likes of you are to stand or fall with the likes of the
soul， （and that they are the soul，）
I believe the likes of you shall stand or fall with my poems， and
that they are my poems，
Man's， woman's， child， youth's， wife's， husband's， mother's，
father's， young man's， young woman's poems，
Head， neck， hair， ears， drop and tympan of the ears，
Eyes， eye-fringes， iris63 of the eye， eyebrows64， and the waking or
sleeping of the lids，
Mouth， tongue， lips， teeth， roof of the mouth， jaws65， and the
jaw-hinges，
Nose， nostrils66 of the nose， and the partition，
Cheeks， temples， forehead， chin， throat， back of the neck， neck-slue，
Strong shoulders， manly67 beard， scapula， hind-shoulders， and the
ample side-round of the chest，
Upper-arm， armpit， elbow-socket， lower-arm， arm-sinews， arm-bones，
Wrist and wrist-joints， hand， palm， knuckles68， thumb， forefinger69，
finger-joints， finger-nails，
Broad breast-front， curling hair of the breast， breast-bone， breast-side，
Ribs70， belly71， backbone， joints of the backbone，
Hips， hip-sockets， hip-strength， inward and outward round， man-balls， man-root，
Strong set of thighs72， well carrying the trunk above，
Leg-fibres， knee， knee-pan， upper-leg， under-leg，
Ankles， instep， foot-ball， toes， toe-joints， the heel；
All attitudes， all the shapeliness， all the belongings73 of my or your body
or of any one's body， male or female，
The lung-sponges， the stomach-sac， the bowels74 sweet and clean，
The brain in its folds inside the skull-frame，
Sympathies， heart-valves， palate-valves， sexuality， maternity75，
Womanhood， and all that is a woman， and the man that comes from woman，
The womb， the teats， nipples， breast-milk， tears， laughter， weeping，
love-looks， love-perturbations and risings，
The voice， articulation76， language， whispering， shouting aloud，
Food， drink， pulse， digestion77， sweat， sleep， walking， swimming，
Poise78 on the hips， leaping， reclining， embracing， arm-curving and
tightening79，
The continual changes of the flex of the mouth， and around the eyes，
The skin， the sunburnt shade， freckles80， hair，
The curious sympathy one feels when feeling with the hand the naked
meat of the body，
The circling rivers the breath， and breathing it in and out，
The beauty of the waist， and thence of the hips， and thence downward
toward the knees，
The thin red jellies within you or within me， the bones and the
marrow81 in the bones，
The exquisite realization82 of health；
O I say these are not the parts and poems of the body only， but of
the soul，
O I say now these are the soul！
