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O DROPS of me! trickle, slow drops, Candid, from me falling—drip, bleeding drops, From wounds made to free you whence you were prisoned, From my face—from my forehead and lips, From my breast—from within where I was con- cealed—Press forth, red drops—confession drops, Stain every page—stain every song I sing, every word I say, bloody […] […] NOT HEAVING FROM MY RIBB’D BREAST ONLY. NOT heaving from my ribb’d breast only, Not in sighs at night in rage dissatisfied with myself, Not in those long-drawn, ill-supprest sighs, Not in many an oath and promise broken, Not in my wilful and savage soul’s volition, Not in the subtle nourishment of the air, Not […] […] A live oak According to the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the live oak is any of several American evergreen oaks noted for its extremely hard tough durable wood. You could say that it’s a powerful symbol of strength and you wouldn’t be mistaken. But if I asked someone from Texas what live oak means to him, I […] […] IN paths untrodden, In the growth by margins of pond-waters, Escaped from the life that exhibits itself, From all the standards hitherto published—from the pleasures, profits, conformities, (Calamus, 1860) Here, of all words I have highlighted one that is by no means unusual or unknown to me, and it was completely […] […] After having discussed the phrenological term “adhesiveness” this Saturday during our class, used to refer to the attachment between men, the word “comrade” caught my attention while I was reading “In Paths Untrodden” from the “Calamus” cluster. “Adhesiveness” and “comrade” evoke at first “sticky or gluey” and “a companion or a member of the Communist […] […] |