A Paumanok Picture
TWO
boats
with
nets
lying
off
the
sea-beach,
quite
still,
Ten
fishermen
waiting—they
discover
a
thick
school
of
mossbonkers—
they
drop
the
join'd
seine-ends
in
the
water,
The
boats
separate
and
row
off,
each
on
its
rounding
course
to
the
beach,
enclosing
the
mossbonkers,
The
net
is
drawn
in
by
a
windlass
by
those
who
stop
ashore,
Some
of
the
fishermen
lounge
in
their
boats,
others
stand
ankle-deep
in
the
water,
pois'd
on
strong
legs,
The
boats
partly
drawn
up,
the
water
slapping
against
them,
Strew'd
on
the
sand
in
heaps
and
windrows,
well
out
from
the
water,
the
green-back'd
spotted
mossbonkers.
Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman, (born May 31, 1819, West Hills, Long Island, New York, U.S.—died March 26, 1892, Camden, New Jersey), American poet, journalist, and essayist whose verse collection Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, is a landmark in the history of American literature. Walt Whitman’s poetry was innovative for its verse style and for the way it challenged traditional narratives. He championed the individual soul over social conventions, presenting himself as a rough and free spirit. His poetry has continued to resonate with new generations of Americans, and he is considered a symbol of American democracy.