.
Sunset on the polluted Potomac: photo by John Neubauer for the Environmental Protection Agency's DOCUMERICA project, September 1972 (U.S. National Archives)
By broad Potomac's shore -- again old tongue!
(Still uttering -- still ejaculating -- canst never cease this babble?)
Again, old heart so gay -- again to you, your sense, the full flush spring returning;
Again the freshness and the odors -- again Virginia's summer sky, pellucid blue and silver,
Again the forenoon purple of the hills,
Again the deathless grass, so noiseless soft and green,
Again the blood-red roses blooming.
Perfume this book of mine O blood-red roses!
Lave subtly with your waters every line Potomac!
Give me of you, O spring, before I close, to put between its pages!
O forenoon purple of the hills, before I close, of you!
O smiling earth -- O summer sun, give me of you!
O deathless grass, of you!
Walt Whitman (1819-1892): By Broad Potomac's Shore, from Leaves of Grass (fifth edition, 1871)
Fishing the polluted Potomac for catfish: photo by John Neubauer for the Environmental Protection Agency's DOCUMERICA project, April 1973 (U.S. National Archives)
![Fishing The Muddied Potomac Near Mt. Vernon, April 1973 | by The U.S. National Archives]()
Fishing the muddied Potomac near Mt. Vernon: photo by John Neubauer for the Environmental Protection Agency's DOCUMERICA project, April 1973 (U.S. National Archives)
A small power boat makes a U-turn on the Potomac just above Mt. Vernon: photo by John Neubauer for the Environmental Protection Agency's DOCUMERICA project, April 1973(U.S. National Archives)
A small power boat on the Potomac River above Mt. Vernon churns up silt: photo by John Neubauer for the Environmental Protection Agency's DOCUMERICA project, April 1973(U.S. National Archives)
A small power boat on the Potomac River above Mt. Vernon stirs up silt: photo by John Neubauer for the Environmental Protection Agency's DOCUMERICA project, April 1973(U.S. National Archives)
Power boats on the polluted Potomac: photo by John Neubauer for the Environmental Protection Agency's DOCUMERICA project, September 1972 (U.S. National Archives)
Sunset on the polluted Potomac: photo by John Neubauer for the Environmental Protection Agency's DOCUMERICA project, September 1972 (U.S. National Archives)
Raw sewage flows into the Potomac at Georgetown Gap. The Watergate complex and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts are nearby: photo by John Neubauer for the Environmental Protection Agency's DOCUMERICA project, April 1973 (U.S. National Archives)
Raw sewage flows into the Potomac at Georgetown Gap. Watergate complex in the background: photo by John Neubauer for the Environmental Protection Agency's DOCUMERICA project, April 1973 (U.S. National Archives)