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Leaves of Grass (1881-82)
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THE WORLD BELOW THE BRINE.
THE world below the brine, |
Forests at the bottom of the sea, the branches and leaves, |
Sea-lettuce, vast lichens, strange flowers and seeds, the thick tangle,
openings, and pink turf,
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Different colors, pale gray and green, purple, white, and gold, the
play of light through the water,
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Dumb swimmers there among the rocks, coral, gluten, grass, rushes,
and the aliment of the swimmers,
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Sluggish existences grazing there suspended, or slowly crawling
close to the bottom,
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The sperm-whale at the surface blowing air and spray, or disporting
with his flukes,
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The leaden-eyed shark, the walrus, the turtle, the hairy sea-leopard,
and the sting-ray,
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Passions there, wars, pursuits, tribes, sight in those ocean-depths,
breathing that thick-breathing air, as so many do,
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The change thence to the sight here, and to the subtle air breathed
by beings like us who walk this sphere,
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The change onward from ours to that of beings who walk other
spheres.
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