When I Heard at the Close of Day Walt Whitman

When I heard at the close of the day how my name had been receiv'd with
Plaudits in the capitol, still it was not a happy night for me that follow'd;
And else, when I carous'd, or when my plans were accomplish'd, still I was not happy;
But the day when I rose at dawn from the bed of perfect health, refresh'd, singing
Inhaling the ripe breath of autumn
When I saw the full moon in the west grow pale and disappear in the morning light
When I wander'd alone over the beach, and undressing, bathed, laughing with the cool
Waters, and saw the sun rise
And when I thought how my dear friend, my lover, was on his way coming, O then I was
Happy;
O then each breath tasted sweeter—and all that day my food nourish'd me more—and the
Beautiful day pass'd well
And the next came with equal joy—and with the next, at evening, came my friend;
And that night, while all was still, I heard the waters roll slowly continually up
The shores
I heard the hissing rustle of the liquid and sands, as directed to me, whispering
To congratulate me
For the one I love most lay sleeping by me under the same cover in the cool night
In the stillness, in the autumn moonbeams, his face was inclined toward me
And his arm lay lightly around my breast—and that night I was happy