When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" by Walt Whitman

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.

This poem by Walt Whitman is evocative because it speaks to the idea of the beauty and wonder of the natural world, and the limitations of human understanding. The contrast between the dry, scientific language of the astronomer and the mystical, emotional response of the speaker is particularly striking.