Chanson De Moi-Meme.52. Poem by Michael Walker
Chanson De Moi-Meme.52.
Le faucon tachete fond en bas et m'accuse, il se plaint de ma parole et de mon delit.
Moi aussi je ne suis point soumis, on ne peut me traduire,
Je sonne mon bavardement barbare sur les toits du monde.
La derniere fuite precipitee de la journee se retient pour moi,
Elle jette mon apparence apres le reste et aussi vraie que n'importe quelle aux deserts sauvages et ombrageux.
Elle me persuade a la fumee et le crepuscule.
Je pars comme l'air, je secoue mes cheveux blancs au soleil fugitif,
Je repands ma chair en tourbillons, et je la fais flottir en breches de dentelle.
Je me legue a la crasse pour me pousser de l'herbe que j'aime,
Si vous me voulez encore cherchez-moi sous les semelles de vos chaussures.
Vous ne saurez guere qui je suis ni ce que je veux dire,
Mais je serai bonne sante a vous neanmoins,
Et je filtrai et je tremperai votre sang.
En manquant a m'amener d'abord restez encourage,
En me manquant a un lieu cherchez un autre,
Je m'arrete quelque part en vous attendant.
-' Song Of Myself, L11'.Walt Whitman (1819-1892) .
This is the last stanza of the very long 'Song Of Myself'. The poem is about himself, his thoughts, likes and dislikes; and a journey which he makes around Manhattan and across the U.S.
Here a hawk swoops near him, complaining of his speech and loitering. Like the hawk, he is untamed and untranslatable. It is now twilight, but the day holds back for him. He departs like air, in death, and bequeaths himself to the dirt and the grass which he loves. He will bring good health to whoever is looking for him. He encourages the searcher to keep looking if not successful at first, try looking in another place, 'I stop somewhere waiting for you'.
The 'you' can be one reader of the poem, or any readers of it. I was very taken by the last line when I first read the poem; I think it has great emotional force. 'I stop somewhere waiting for you'.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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3/13/2026 1:28:10 PM # 1.0.0
