Lyric Poem · Nature
The Ship Starting
by Walt Whitman
LO! the unbounded sea!
On its breast a Ship starting, spreading all her sails—an ample Ship,
carrying even her moonsails;
The pennant is flying aloft, as she speeds, she speeds so stately—below,
emulous waves press forward,
They surround the Ship, with shining curving motions, and foam.
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“The Ship Starting” by Walt Whitman — quilloak.com/poems/the-ship-starting
Quick facts
- Poem
- The Ship Starting
- Poet
- Walt Whitman
- Length
- 6 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem, Short Poems
- Themes
- Nature, Short
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
- PoetryDBThe Ship Starting 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 069dcaabae1d210f…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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