Why, who makes much of a miracle? / As to me I know of nothing else but miracles
-- Speaker (Whitman) (Lines 1-2)

Importance: These lines that open “Miracles” establish the central subject of Whitman’s poem, his titular “miracles,” and the first-person singular perspective, Whitman’s “I,” from which his poem is written. From the opening rhetorical question, Whitman both reveals his desire to challenge traditional connotations of “miracle” as associated with the dogma of organized religion as well as his subtly rebellious tone. Already, he hints at his perspective that miracles are not rare events that fall down from the heavens but are, in reality, more quotidian and scattered throughout everyday life. To open the second line with “As to me,” Whitman early on reinforces the importance of personal, subjective experience.

Or talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love, / Or sit at...
-- Speaker (Whitman) (Lines 6-9)