Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, CITY OF ORGIES, by WALT WHITMAN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

CITY OF ORGIES, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: City of orgies, walks and joys
Last Line: Lovers, continual lovers, only repay me.
Subject(s): Americans; United States; America


City of orgies, walks and joys,
City whom that I have lived and sung in your midst will one
day make you illustrious,
Not the pageants of you, not your shifting tableaus, your
spectacles, repay me,
Not the interminable rows of your houses, nor the ships at
the wharves,
Nor the processions in the streets, nor the bright windows
with goods in them,
Nor to converse with learn'd persons, or bear my share in
the soiree or feast;
Not those, but as I pass O Manhattan, your frequent and
swift flash of eyes offering me love,
Offering response to my own -- these repay me,
Lovers, continual lovers, only repay me.





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