Lyric Poem · Love
Native Moments
by Walt Whitman
1NATIVE moments! when you come upon me—Ah you are here now!
2Give me now libidinous joys only!
3Give me the drench of my passions! Give me life coarse and rank!
4To-day, I go consort with nature’s darlings—to-night too;
5I am for those who believe in loose delights—I share the midnight orgies of young men;
6I dance with the dancers, and drink with the drinkers;
7The echoes ring with our indecent calls;
8I take for my love some prostitute—I pick out some low person for my dearest friend,
9He shall be lawless, rude, illiterate—he shall be one condemn’d by others for deeds
10 done;
11I will play a part no longer—Why should I exile myself from my companions?
12O you shunn’d persons! I at least do not shun you,
13I come forthwith in your midst—I will be your poet,
14I will be more to you than to any of the rest.
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“Native Moments” by Walt Whitman — quilloak.com/poems/native-moments
Quick facts
- Poem
- Native Moments
- Poet
- Walt Whitman
- Length
- 14 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem
- Themes
- Love, Friendship
Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- Walt Whitman1819–1892
- Source record
- PoetryDBNative Moments by walt-whitman, PoetryDB transcription
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- Not recorded in the imported source
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 ce12c6ceb35039f3…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.