Leaves of Grass

The speaker asks those he loves to come close and give him the best of themselves. He identifies strongly with working people; he wants to partake of their experiences on the basis of equality—the common ground that they share. He asks whether they have thought themselves unworthy, or less than rich or educated people. He assures all men and women that he knows their souls and essential selves, beyond surface imperfections, misdeeds, occupations, or race.

The speaker sees many kinds of people: boys apprenticed to a trade, young and old farm workers, mechanics, sailors, merchantmen, and more. They cannot escape his notice, nor want to, because brings them what they need—even though they already have it. This need is hard to define; it cannot be found in a book or a newspaper, for example. It is potentially the happiness that the universe embodies, but does not depend on fate or circumstances. Every minute of life is filled with wonders, including the wonders that everyone sees in everyone else. Things like libraries, the government, the US, the Constitution, and religious writings are fine, but humans are more important than what they create—they supply the life to these manmade things. The president, Congress, and the courts exist to serve men and women, not the other way round.