Walt Whitman

Book XXIV. Autumn Rivulets: Unfolded Out of the Folds

Unfolded out of the folds of the woman, man comes unfolded, and is
        always to come unfolded;
  Unfolded only out of the superbest woman of the earth, is to come the
        superbest man of the earth;
  Unfolded out of the friendliest woman, is to come the friendliest
        man;
  Unfolded only out of the perfect body of a woman, can a man be form’d
        of perfect body;
  Unfolded only out of the inimitable poem of the woman, can come the
        poems of man—(only thence have my poems come;)
  Unfolded out of the strong and arrogant woman I love, only thence can
        appear the strong and arrogant man I love;
  Unfolded by brawny embraces from the well-muscled woman I love, only
        thence come the brawny embraces of the man;
  Unfolded out of the folds of the woman’s brain, come all the folds of
        the man’s brain, duly obedient;
  Unfolded out of the justice of the woman, all justice is unfolded;
  Unfolded out of the sympathy of the woman is all sympathy:         10
  A man is a great thing upon the earth, and through eternity—but
        every jot of the greatness of man is unfolded out of woman,
  First the man is shaped in the woman, he can then be shaped in
        himself.
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