When I heard the learn’d astronomer, When the proofs, the figures,…

When I heard the learn’d astronomer, When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me, When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them, When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room, How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick, Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself, In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

Walt Whitman1819–1892 · poet · 1800s USAWalt Whitman was an American poet whose bold, free-flowing collection Leaves of Grass broke away from traditional rhyme and rhythm to celebrate everyday people, nature, and democracy.47 quotes

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How sure this is: 95% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
What turned up: “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”; Complete eight-line public-domain poem; entire text read. Preserves the movement from a formal lecture to direct contemplation of stars, rather than detaching the final line from its context. Academy text and punctuation retained.
Work: “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”
Sources checked: poets.orgChecked using manual, 20 October 2026“When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”; Complete eight-line public-domain poem; entire text read. Preserves the movement from a formal lecture to direct contemplation of stars, rather than detaching the final line from its context. Academy text and punctuation retained.