And a Quick Poem

"To A Certain Cantatrice"

Here, take this gift!
I was reserving it for some hero, speaker, or General,
One who should serve the good old cause, the great Idea, the progress and freedom of the race;
Some brave confronter of despots - some daring rebel;
- But I see that what I was reserving, belongs to you just as much as any.

Walt Whitman, "Leaves of Grass"