Songs of Myself Part 46: Walt Whitman

46 from Songs of Myself
Walt Whitman

I know I have the best of time and space, and was never measured and
never will be measured.

I tramp a perpetual journey, (come listen all!)
My signs are a rain-proof coat, good shoes, and a staff cut from the woods,
No friend of mine takes his ease in my chair,
I have no chair, no church, no philosophy,
I lead no man to a dinner-table, library, exchange,
But each man and each woman of you I lead upon a knoll,
My left hand hooking you round the waist,
My right hand pointing to landscapes of continents and the public road.

Not I, not any one else can travel that road for you,
You must travel it for yourself.

It is not far, it is within reach,
Perhaps you have been on it since you were born and did not know,
Perhaps it is everywhere on water and on land.

Shoulder your duds dear son, and I will mine, and let us hasten forth,
Wonderful cities and free nations we shall fetch as we go.

If you tire, give me both burdens, and rest the chuff of your hand
on my hip,
And in due time you shall repay the same service to me,
For after we start we never lie by again.

This day before dawn I ascended a hill and look'd at the crowded heaven,
And I said to my spirit When we become the enfolders of those orbs,
and the pleasure and knowledge of every thing in them, shall we
be fill'd and satisfied then?
And my spirit said No, we but level that lift to pass and continue beyond.

You are also asking me questions and I hear you,
I answer that I cannot answer, you must find out for yourself.

Sit a while dear son,
Here are biscuits to eat and here is milk to drink,
But as soon as you sleep and renew yourself in sweet clothes, I kiss you
with a good-by kiss and open the gate for your egress hence.

Long enough have you dream'd contemptible dreams,
Now I wash the gum from your eyes,
You must habit yourself to the dazzle of the light and of every
moment of your life.

Long have you timidly waded holding a plank by the shore,
Now I will you to be a bold swimmer,
To jump off in the midst of the sea, rise again, nod to me, shout,
and laughingly dash with your hair.

Analysis:
To fully grasp the concept behind this poem, I first had to understand the poet. Walt Whitman loved to travel and being outdoors. He always felt that poems were best written outside and felt with nature. This particular poem was a poem represented the unique road one must take for himself, emphasizing the beauty he felt on the road.
Using a fatherly tone or the tone of someone wiser and older, Whitman used an extended metaphor to talk about the rugged path as life, using yet more symbols such as the shoes and the staff to represent the gears needed for life. In the middle of the first stanza, Whitman clearly suggested that he was not writing the poem to talk about the concrete, ordinary things in life as he stated that he had no chair, no church, no philosophy and that he would lead no man to a dinner-table. He confirmed that when he stated he could not lead anyone to the answer, which I believe was represented by the library and the dinner-table, but that he could lead them to a knoll, which I believe symbolized the beginning of something. Whitman also emphasized the fact that the road was ours alone to walk as he stated in the third stanza about how he couldn't walk the road for anyone as he repeated it again in the fourth to last stanza. In the next stanza, I believe he was highlighting the fact that everyone's road would be completely different with infinite possibilities as he stated that "its everywhere on water and on land." Starting from third to last stanza, the tone shifted from a person advising another to someone giving something up. In the sixth to last stanza, Whitman used more metaphors, telling " you" to give him his burdens if he tired and also that they could "never lie by again."I felt that this was saying that no matter how tired we could get from living and no matter how dependent we have to be on another, we can't stop. In the next stanza, where Whitman is talking to himself, I believe he was addressing the spiritual side of life as his spirit tells him there is no end to life, only beyond it. In the last stanza, he used yet another metaphor stating that "you" have waited timidly for a long time and it was our time to swim. This metaphor represented the courage Whitman wanted "you" to feel as "you" would start to truly experience life.
It felt as if he was passing the baton to another younger person ready to embark upon an adventure. However, it did not sound regretful, but more like a person who finished reading a good book and giving it to someone else: happy to share the experience and give a recommendation, but not give the ending away.

Thoughts:
I am not really a Walt Whitman fan, mostly because I don't really enjoy reading about the obviously patriotic topics he often writes about. However, I liked this poem because it's relatable and because it talks of not only the ending of something but also the beginning of something as well. I liked this poem because it was not the usually depressingly beautiful poems I usually read but a poem full of hopes and expectations.