I sing the body electric

'This man was of wonderful vigor, calmness, beauty of

  person,

The shape of his head, the pale yellow and white of his

  hair and beard, the immeasurable meaning of his

  black eyes, the richness and breadth of his manners,

These I used to go and visit him to see, he was wise also,

He was six feet tall, he was over eighty years old, his sons

  were massive clean, bearded, tan faced, handsome,

They and his daughters loved him, all who saw him loved

  him,

They did not love him by allowance, they loved him with

  personal love,

He drank water only, the blood show'd like scarlet

  through the clear- brown skin of his face,

He was a frequent gunner and fisher, he sail'd his boat

  himself, he had a fine one presented to him by a ship-

  joiner, he had fowling-pieces presented to him by

  men who loved him,

When he went with his five sons and many grand-sons to

  hunt or fish, you would pick him out as the most

  beautiful and vigorous of the gang,

You would wish long and long to be with him, you

  would wish to sit by him in the boat that you and he

  might touch each other.'

(from Walt Whitman's  'I sing the body electric')