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The Gates Opening</font></td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#B1B1B1"><td height="1"><img src="/web/20070221074501im_/http://www.bartleby.com/images/newsite/horiz_bar602.gif" width="603" height="1" alt=""></td></tr><tr><td> <table width="601" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#ffffff"> <tr><td align="LEFT" height="25" width="1%" valign="MIDDLE"><a href="/web/20070221074501/http://www.bartleby.com/229/1126.html"><img src="/web/20070221074501im_/http://www.bartleby.com/images/newsite/lt.gif" border="0" width="8" height="17"></a></td> <td align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size="-1">  <a href="/web/20070221074501/http://www.bartleby.com/229/1126.html">PREVIOUS</a></font></td> <td align="RIGHT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size="-1"><a href="/web/20070221074501/http://www.bartleby.com/229/1128.html">NEXT</a>  </font></td> <td align="RIGHT" width="1%" valign="MIDDLE"><a href="/web/20070221074501/http://www.bartleby.com/229/1128.html"><img src="/web/20070221074501im_/http://www.bartleby.com/images/newsite/gt.gif" border="0" width="8" height="17"></a></td></tr></table></td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#B1B1B1"> <td height="1"><img src="/web/20070221074501im_/http://www.bartleby.com/images/newsite/horiz_bar602.gif" width="603" height="1"></td></tr> <tr><td align="CENTER" valign="BOTTOM" height="25"><font size="-1"><a href="/web/20070221074501/http://www.bartleby.com/229/">CONTENTS</a> · <a href="/web/20070221074501/http://www.bartleby.com/br/229.html">BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD</a></font></td></tr> </table></form>  <table align="CENTER" width="601" border="0" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#ffffff">  <tr><td align="CENTER">Walt Whitman <font size="-1">(18191892).</font>  Prose Works. <font size="-1">1892.</font></td></tr> <tr><td>  </td></tr> <tr><td align="CENTER"><font color="#9C9C63" size="+1">I. Specimen Days</font></td></tr> <tr><td align="CENTER"><font color="#9C9C63" size="+2"><b>127. The Gates Opening</b></font></td></tr> <tr><td>  </td></tr>  </table> <table align="CENTER" width="601" border="0" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#ffffff">  <tr><td><i>April 6.</i>P<font size="-1">ALPABLE</font> spring indeed, or the indications of it. I am sitting in bright sunshine, at the edge of the creek, the surface just rippled by the wind. All is solitude, morning freshness, negligence. For companions my two kingfishers sailing, winding, darting, dipping, sometimes capriciously separate, then flying together. I hear their guttural twittering again and again; for awhile nothing but that peculiar sound. As noon approaches other birds warm up. The reedy notes of the robin, and a musical passage of two parts, one a clear delicious gurgle, with several other birds I cannot place. To which is joind, (yes, I just hear it,) one low purr at intervals from some impatient hylas at the pond-edge. The sibilant murmur of a pretty stiff breeze now and then through the trees. Then a poor little dead leaf, long frost-bound, whirls from somewhere up aloft in one wild escaped freedom-spree in space and sunlight, and then dashes down to the waters, which hold it closely and soon drown it out of sight. The bushes and trees are yet bare, but the beeches have their wrinkled yellow leaves of last seasons foliage largely left, frequent cedars and pines yet green, and the grass not without proofs of coming fulness. And over all a wonderfully fine dome of clear blue, the play of light coming and going, and great fleeces of white clouds swimming so silently.</td><td valign="top" align="right"><font size="-2"><a name="1"><i>   1</i></a></font></td></tr> </table>   <table align="CENTER" width="601" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#ffffff"> <tr><td><br></td></tr> <tr><td align="CENTER" valign="BOTTOM" height="25"><font size="-1"><a href="/web/20070221074501/http://www.bartleby.com/229/">CONTENTS</a> · <a href="/web/20070221074501/http://www.bartleby.com/br/229.html">BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD</a></font></td></tr><tr><td><br></td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#B1B1B1"><td height="1"><img src="/web/20070221074501im_/http://www.bartleby.com/images/newsite/horiz_bar602.gif" width="601" alt="" height="1"></td></tr> <tr><td><table width="601" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#ffffff"><tr><td align="LEFT" height="25" width="1%" valign="MIDDLE"><a 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