THE world below the brine;
Forests at the bottom of the sea-the branches and leaves,
Sea-lettuce, vast lichens, strange flowers and seeds-the thick tangle, the openings,
and
the pink turf,
Different colors, pale gray and green, purple, white, and gold-the play of light
through
the water,
Dumb swimmers there among the rocks-coral, gluten, grass, rushes-and the aliment
of
the swimmers,
Sluggish existences grazing there, suspended, or slowly crawling close to the bottom,
The sperm-whale at the surface, blowing air and spray, or disporting with his flukes,
The leaden-eyed shark, the walrus, the turtle, the hairy sea-leopard, and the sting-ray;
Passions there-wars, pursuits, tribes-sight in those ocean-depths-breathing
that
thick-breathing air, as so many do;
The change thence to the sight here, and to the subtle air breathed by beings like us, who
walk
this sphere;
The change onward from ours, to that of beings who walk other spheres.
(Walt Whitman)
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Based on Topics: Light Poems, Sense & Perception Poems, Water Poems, Change Poems, Passion PoemsBased on Keywords: pursuits, swimmers, openings, lichens, disporting, walrus, existences, flukes, leaden-eyed, aliment, sea-the