perfect silence

WHEN I HEARD THE LEARN'D ASTRONOMER


WHEN I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and diagrams,
to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer
where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air,
and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.


Walt Whitman (1819-1892), Leaves of Grass

To read more poems by this author, please refer to:
http://www.poetry-archive.com/w/whitman_walt.html

Photo: Star Trails at 16,000 ft., Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania © Dan Heller
To see more photos from this set please refer to:
http://www.danheller.com/kili-mtn.html