Leaves of Grass

A Christmas Greeting

  Welcome, Brazilian brother—thy ample place is ready;
  A loving hand—a smile from the north—a sunny instant hall!
  (Let the future care for itself, where it reveals its troubles,
      impedimentas,
  Ours, ours the present throe, the democratic aim, the acceptance and
      the faith;)
  To thee to-day our reaching arm, our turning neck—to thee from us
      the expectant eye,
  Thou cluster free! thou brilliant lustrous one! thou, learning well,
  The true lesson of a nation’s light in the sky,
  (More shining than the Cross, more than the Crown,)
  The height to be superb humanity.