I WILL take an egg out of the robin's nest in the orchard,
I will take a branch of gooseberries from the old bush in the garden,
and go and preach to the world;
You shall see I will not meet a single heretic or scorner,
You shall see how I stump clergymen, and confound them,
You shall see me showing a scarlet tomato, and a white pebble from
the beach.
I believe this peom speaks of Whitman's quest to show the people what is good. I also agree with Brian on the part about the clergymen and how they often would preach things like slavery that were wrong and cruel but I don't think it was limited to this.
Brian Scott thinks that this poem by Whitman expresses is discomfort in the fact that religion preaches racism and he expresses his need to correct this in You shal see how i shall stump the clergymen and confound them.
This guy sounds like he will do what he wants and how he wants to do it. he is very open minded.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Let's stay close to the facts of this poem. The tangible rather than the abstract moral revelation espoused by the clergy of all denominations is what matters. For Whitman the physical object alone constitutes evidence and carries conviction in a world of flux and uncertainty.