Street Art in Cleveland: A Season for Change



I saw this urban mural near Detroit Ave. on a recent visit to Cleveland, Ohio. Google image search didn’t lead me to the artist, so I am not sure who to credit. I did find images of the almost complete colorful street mural, references to this Walt Whitman poem, and that it was commissioned by Cleveland Public Theatre. I like everything about it, except for the eyes in the sky.

I Hear America Singing

I HEAR America singing, the varied carols I hear;
Those of mechanics—each one singing his, as it should be, blithe and strong;
The carpenter singing his, as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his, as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work;
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat—the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck;
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench—the hatter singing as he stands;
The wood-cutter’s song—the ploughboy’s, on his way in the morning, or at the noon intermission, or at sundown;
The delicious singing of the mother—or of the young wife at work—or of the girl sewing or washing—Each singing what belongs to her, and to none else;
The day what belongs to the day—At night, the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing, with open mouths, their strong melodious songs.

—Walt Whitman (1819-1892) poet, essayist, and humanist. (from Leaves of Grass, 1900)