{"id":134260,"date":"2019-05-27T12:01:27","date_gmt":"2019-05-27T11:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=134260"},"modified":"2019-05-27T10:25:53","modified_gmt":"2019-05-27T09:25:53","slug":"walt-whitman-returns-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2019\/05\/walt-whitman-returns-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Walt Whitman Returns. . ."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/a>

wikipedia<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThis is what you shall do:
\nLove the earth and sun and the animals,
\nDespise riches, <\/em>
\nGive alms to everyone that asks, . . . \u201c <\/em>
\n— Walt Whitman (1819-1892)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

May 31, 2019 is the 200th<\/sup> anniversary of Walt Whitman\u2019s birth in West Hills, New York. The passage of two centuries of continuous war and violence reveals humanity has neither learned nor heeded Whitman\u2019s sage words and pleas for unity, connection, oneness with all things. Whitman\u2019s words and thoughts remain because they are sacred. He beheld the horrors and the beauty of life, breaking with conventional poetic forms, to inspire a 19th<\/sup> century vision of life transcending time… enduring.<\/p>\n

I wonder what Walt Whitman would say if he appeared in our time? I know he would recognize the betrayal of history\u2019s lessons, humanity\u2019s continued infatuation with violence and war, and our limited empathy. He would scold us! Reprimand us! Remind us solutions are to be found in compassion and connection, not metal.<\/p>\n

In one of those special moments, readily experienced while reading Whitman, I experienced Walt Whitman\u2019s presence. I sought words, feelings, images, wanting to secure his presence, finding in them a profound sense of existing. I wanted to immediately to write a poem honoring his voice and intentions. I wrote a draft poem in sojourn in hours, words tumbling out unimpeded convention. I was possessed by purpose. \u00a0I waited a few days, overwhelmed by my efforts to hear his voice, to channel his presence. It is best to rest when you awaken the dead in thought and feeling. This is the poem I created.<\/p>\n

My words lack the power and grace of Walt Whitman; but I am consoled by my intentions is good! \u00a0My effort is offered in respect and admiration of his Walt Whitman\u2019s timeless talent, and timeless message of the unity across all life.\u00a0 Happy Birthday, Walt Whitman.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Again!\u00a0 . . . Again!<\/p>\n

    Hate\u2019s fiery cauldron overflows!
    \nGettysburg, Manassas, Chancellorsville, Vicksburg?<\/p>\n

    More than places!
    \nSacred lands, defiled!
    \nUnshaven old men, pimpled-scarred youth,
    \nBlue or grey now red.
    \nBodies lying in heaps . . . or alone,
    \nLimbless, moaning, seared souls,
    \nDead!<\/p>\n

    Posterity captured:
    \nRifles in hand, pistols gripped, swords unsheathed,
    \nBlood-stained rocks, smoldering earth, shattered trees.
    \nFlies gathering to feast,
    \nBuzzing amid charnel,
    \nReflexively choosing choice sites.<\/p>\n

    II.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Brave soldiers march to cadenced drums.
    \nFlags wave,
    \nArtillery towed,
    \nMedaled-generals salute,
    \nParades!
    \n\u201cCharades\u201d . . . I say!<\/p>\n

    Battles forgotten,
    \nTriumph\u2019s costs denied.
    \nMusic and verse:<\/p>\n

    \u201cMine eyes have seen the glory . . .\u201d
    \n\u201cOh, I wish I was in the land of cotton \u2026
    \n\u201cOnward Christian soldiers . . .\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    And in the background,
    \nIn shadows,
    \nTime unchanged:<\/p>\n

    \u201cSteal away, steal away; Steal away to . . .
    \n\u201cDeeeeppp river, Lord! My home is over Jordan.<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u201cIllusions . . . delusions,\u201d I say!
    \nPodium, stage, pulpit,
    \nPlatforms for death and destruction;
    \nFoundations for domination.<\/p>\n

    How inadequate Periclean words,
    \nUnfit for all times.
    \nPreserving lies,
    \nInspiring myths!
    \nNurturing cultures of war,
    \nCults of nations,
    \nFood for empire!<\/p>\n

    III.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Did you not see what I saw?
    \nEndless rows of blood-stained sheets,
    \nGaunt nurses placating life,
    \nTears streaming from bedside widows
    \nHollow-eyed children begging for bread.<\/p>\n

    Damn the cannon makers!
    \nDamn the smelters making them!
    \nDamn the voices cheering their firing!
    \nGuiltless . . .
    \nBlind to their sullied metal fruit,
    \nDeaf to cries,
    \nDistance from shot to crater
    \nBuffering conscience.<\/p>\n

    Make them walk brimstone,
    \nBreathe fumes of seared flesh,
    \nBeg for mercy,
    \nAsk respite from hot metal,
    \nSeek relief from scorched earth.<\/p>\n

    Make them know pain, suffering, death \u2013
    \nAvoided \u2013 escaped \u2013 denied,
    \nHidden amidst comforts:<\/p>\n

    Gilded rooms,
    \nLeather chairs,
    \nPolished tables,
    \nSycophants:
    \n\u201cSir!\u201d
    \n\u201cNo, Sir!\u201d
    \n\u201cYes, Sir!\u201d
    \n\u201cMore, Sir?\u201d
    \n\u201cSherry, Sir?\u201d<\/p>\n

    IV.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    What use, conscience?
    \nWhat value, brain?
    \nWhat function, heart?
    \nWhat glory, courage . . .
    \nIf ignored, denied, separated
    \nFrom a silent human face.<\/p>\n

    A face, once admired and prized,
    \nBursting forth from a mother urging
    \nHer swollen womb;
    \nGrunting . . . screaming
    \nUnfathomable mysteries,
    \nBirthing life!
    \nA face emerges!
    \nIts future . . . inscribed.<\/p>\n

    Tear down your crosses, crescents, and sacred-angled stars<\/p>\n

    If you ignore their precepts!<\/p>\n

    Excuses for madness,
    \nSalve for betrayal,
    \nGloves for stained hands
    \nVeils for truth.<\/p>\n

    Fall upon your knees,
    \nBeg forgiveness,
    \nJudas!
    \nFailed prophets!
    \nFlawed angels!
    \nGod pretenders,
    \nStainers of time!<\/p>\n

    Mortal art thou Man!
    \nBlood, bone, sinew.
    \nSeeker!
    \nMind!
    \nSpirit essence!<\/p>\n

    V.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Sing the song of life!
    \nCast seeds upon the land,
    \nPlant trees in barren hills,
    \nWater fallow fields.<\/p>\n

    Look to mountains,
    \nForested woods,
    \nDesert sands,
    \nMirrored lakes.
    \nGaze in wonder!<\/p>\n

    Inhale air,
    \nSip water,
    \nBreak bread,
    \nBehold skies;
    \nAll else is vanity!<\/p>\n

    Go now!
    \nFind your place
    \nWalk tortoise paths,
    \nFollow hare tracks,
    \nEat berries,
    \nUrinate,
    \nCreate streams \u2013 drops!
    \nErase scars of war!<\/p>\n

    All is sacred!
    \nBehold grandeur,
    \nFill senses with awe \u2013
    \nFailing this,
    \nKnow you never lived!<\/p>\n

    At end of day,
    \nEarth will accept your
    \nCrumbled remains,
    \nAnd . . . try again!
    \nAnd you will have no choice!<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. (Walt Whitman\u2019s Words)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u201cThis is what you shall do:<\/em><\/p>\n

      Love the earth and sun and the animals,<\/em>
      \nDespise riches,<\/em>
      \nGive alms to everyone that asks,<\/em>
      \nStand up for the stupid and crazy, <\/em>
      \nDevote your income and labor to others,<\/em>
      \nHate tyrants, argue not concerning god, <\/em>
      \nHave patience and indulgence toward the people,<\/em>
      \nRe-examine all you have been told<\/em>
      \nAt school or church or in any book,<\/em>
      \nDismiss whatever insults your own soul;<\/em>
      \nAnd your very flesh shall be a great poem.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

      — Walt Whitman, Preface to Leaves of Grass<\/em> (1855)<\/p>\n

      ******************************<\/p>\n

      Comment:<\/h3>\n

      Walt Whitman (1819-1892) is my favorite poet, and in many ways, my favorite humanist. He witnessed the horrors of the American Civil War; their sights, sounds, and smells inspired his commitment to peace. But long before the War, his special senses gave voice to word for changing world about him. He captured time and times!<\/p>\n

      I find life in his every word, each line and verse, a sacred-clarion call to life! In his words, their pace, stridency, boldness, spring passionate observations, accusations, and visions of hope revealing uncommon and uncompromising courage and wisdom.<\/p>\n

      Herbert Levine published an inspiring commentary on Walt Whitman\u2019s timeless contributions, entitled: \u201cThe Voice We Need Now: Whitman at 200.\u201d \u00a0(Levine, H. (2019). Tikkun & The Voice of Spiritual Progressives, <\/strong><\/em>May 22, 2019)<\/p>\n

      In this America, we need a healthy dose of the countervailing idea expressed in our founding Declaration of Independence, what Whitman called our \u201corganic compact\u201d \u2013 that all humans are created equal. Just as President and lumberjack, man and woman, black, red or white, should be equals in a democratic universe, so too necessarily, soul and body, spirit and matter, death and life, God and humans. All things in the known universe and in the parts of it that remain unknown are equal. They all partake equally in the cosmos. They are all embodiments of a single reality — the continuum of matter-spirit, body-soul, life-death, God-human, time-space — which Whitman, following Emerson, chose to call \u201cdivine.\u201d And if all who are conscious know that they partake of this single divine reality, then how can they let the greed of a few control their aspirations and shape their political and economic destiny. The success of Whitman\u2019s poetry would be evident, he claimed, by the empowerment of those who read and understood him (Levine, 2019).<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

      Nothing more needs to be said. Walt Whitman endures; humanity continues to at risk.<\/p>\n

      ___________________________________________<\/em><\/p>\n

      First published by TMS<\/a> on 15 Dec 2014<\/em><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/a><\/em>Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D., a member of the <\/em>TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment<\/a>, is a past president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, Emeritus Professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii\u2019s Manoa Campus in Honolulu, Hawaii, and past director of the World Health Organization Psychiatric Research Center in Honolulu. \u00a0He is known internationally as a pioneer figure in the study of culture and psychopathology who challenged the ethnocentrism and racial biases of many assumptions, theories, and practices in psychology and psychiatry. In more recent years, he has been writing and lecturing on peace and social justice. He has published 21 books and more than 300 articles, tech reports, and popular commentaries. His<\/em> TMS articles may be accessed<\/em> HERE<\/a> and he can be reached at <\/em>marsella@hawaii.edu<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      May 31, 2019 is the 200th anniversary of Walt Whitman\u2019s birth in West Hills, New York. I wonder what Walt Whitman would say if he appeared in our time? I know he would recognize the betrayal of history\u2019s lessons, humanity\u2019s continued infatuation with violence and war, and our limited empathy. He would scold us! Reprimand us! Remind us solutions are to be found in compassion and connection, not metal. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":60266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[182],"tags":[868,1101],"class_list":["post-134260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poetry-format","tag-poetry","tag-walt-whitman"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}