Both Uses of
Mecca
in
Leaves of Grass
- You foot-worn pilgrim welcoming the far-away sparkle of the minarets
of Mecca!†Chpt 6 *Mecca = the birthplace of Muhammad and the holiest city of Islam (located in Saudi Arabia)
- I see religious dances old and new,
I hear the sound of the Hebrew lyre,
I see the crusaders marching bearing the cross on high, to the
martial clang of cymbals,
I hear dervishes monotonously chanting, interspers'd with frantic
shouts, as they spin around turning always towards Mecca,
I see the rapt religious dances of the Persians and the Arabs,
Again, at Eleusis, home of Ceres, I see the modern Greeks dancing,
I hear them clapping their hands as they bend their bodies,
I hear the metrical shuffling of their feet.†Chpt 25
Definitions:
-
(1)
(Mecca as in: pilgrimage to Mecca) the birthplace of Muhammad and the holiest city of Islam (located in Saudi Arabia)
-
(2)
(mecca as in: a mecca for young artists) a place that attracts many visitors
-
(3)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Less commonly, Mecca can be a person's name.