From A Glimpse

a glimpse through an interstice caught,
Of a crowd of workmen and drivers in a bar-room around the stove late of a winter night, and I remark'd seated in a corner,
Of a youth who loves me, and whom I love, silently approaching and seating himself near, that he may hold me by the hand...

Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, in West Hills, Long Island. He was, at times, teacher, editor, printer, carpenter, store owner. He walked, endlessly, the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn, encountering young men and meticulously cataloging their names and attributes in his notebooks. One of his best known works, Leaves of Grass, contains some of these notes, in poem form.