Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors close in an hour. Which way does your
beard point tonight?
(I touch your book and dream of our
odyssey in the supermarket and feel absurd.)
Will we walk all night through solitary
streets? The trees add shade to shade, lights
out in the houses, we'll both be lonely.
- "A Supermarket in California,"
Allen Ginsberg
What feeling or idea does Ginsberg express with
this allusion to Walt Whitman?
Ginsberg suggests that both he and Whitman
are superior to others.
Ginsberg suggests that both he and Whitman
are out of step with the norms of mainstream
society.
Ginsberg suggests that both he and Whitman
are running out of time and must leave the
market.
DONE