Specimen Days III: Locusts and Katydids

I very much enjoyed this particular excerpt. In it, Whitman describes the sounds (music) made by locusts and katydids. I mostly liked it because he paints such a beautiful picture of locusts and the sounds they make. Locusts are generally associated with very negative things, plagues, insects, and are usually viewed as another type of vermin. I love the way Whitman is able to look past the general stigma of these creature, and look at them with fresh eyes, and in doing so, forces me to do the same. What can I say? I'm a sucker for "ugly" things with pretty words.