Mannahatta

    I was asking for something specific and perfect for my city，

    Whereupon lo！ upsprang the aboriginal¹ name.

    Now I see what there is in a name， a word， liquid， sane²， unruly， musical， self-sufficient，

    I see that the word of my city is that word from of old，

    Because I see that word nested in nests of water-bays，superb，

    Rich， hemm'd thick all around with sailships and

    steamships³， an island sixteen miles long， solid-founded，

    Numberless crowded streets， high growths of iron， slender，

    strong， light， splendidly uprising toward clear skies，

    Tides swift and ample， well-loved by me， toward sundown，

    The flowing sea-currents， the little islands， larger adjoining islands， the heights， the villas⁴，

    The countless⁵ masts， the white shore-steamers， the lighters⁶，

    the ferry-boats， the black sea-steamers well-model'd，

    The down-town streets， the jobbers⁷' houses of business， the

    houses of business of the ship-merchants and money-brokers， the river-streets，

    Immigrants arriving， fifteen or twenty thousand in a week，

    The carts hauling goods， the manly⁸ race of drivers of horses，the brown-faced sailors，

    The summer air， the bright sun shining， and the sailing clouds aloft，

    The winter snows， the sleigh-bells， the broken ice in the

    river， passing along up or down with the flood-tide or ebb-tide，

    The mechanics of the city， the masters， well-form'd，

    beautiful-faced， looking you straight in the eyes，

    Trottoirs throng'd， vehicles， Broadway， the women， the shops and shows，

    A million people——manners free and superb——open voices——

    hospitality——the most courageous⁹ and friendly young men，

    City of hurried and sparkling waters！ city of spires¹⁰ and masts！

    City nested in bays！ my city！