WHY! who makes much of a miracle?
As to me, I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach, just in the edge of the water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love—or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with my mother,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive, of a summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds—or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sun-down—or of stars shining so quiet and bright,
Or the exquisite, delicate, thin curve of the new moon in spring;
Or whether I go among those I like best, and that like me best—mechanics, boatmen,
farmers,
Or among the savans—or to the soiree—or to the opera,
Or stand a long while looking at the movements of machinery,
Or behold children at their sports,
Or the admirable sight of the perfect old man, or the perfect old woman,
Or the sick in hospitals, or the dead carried to burial,
Or my own eyes and figure in the glass;
These, with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring—yet each distinct, and in its place.

To me, every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same;
Every spear of grass—the frames, limbs, organs, of men and women, and all that
concerns
them,
All these to me are unspeakably perfect miracles.

To me the sea is a continual miracle;
The fishes that swim—the rocks—the motion of the waves—the ships, with men
in
them,
What stranger miracles are there?

Analysis, meaning and summary of Walt Whitman's poem Miracles.

8 Comments

  1. Matt says:

    Hang on, this website says that the poem was written/published in 1900, but Whitman died in 1892. When was the poem actually written?

  2. Reyna says:

    i have been reading a lot of walts work and i find it hard to know if he really means what he is saying in his poem. a lot of his work is expressing his own feelings about things and i have to wonder how he came up with such an optimistic poem considering how big of a change it seems to be from his other work

  3. Jordan says:

    I’m not sure, Is walt whitman himself the persona of this poem?

  4. Holden says:

    When I first read the poem I was confused I mean I got what he meant I just didn’t know how he could find all of those things as miracles, but now that I am reading it again I now know how he sees miracles everywhere.

  5. Amanda says:

    I love this poem. It is so wonderful how Walt Whitman put it together.

  6. Lizzy says:

    To me this poem is about how we take everything for granted. Instead of being thankful for all of these gifts of life we live negatively. To Whitman everything is a miracle and by having this optimistic outlook on life how could anyone have any regrets? We can’t.

  7. Ashley Rude says:

    After reading nearly all of Whitman’s work, Miracles is still my favorite. For me, reading it is humbling.

  8. Mike says:

    What is the style, genre, form, stanza type, and rhyme scheme of the poem?
    What are examples of figurative and sensory language in the poem?

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