Quote:
Originally Posted by hpulley
...I'm surprised by how readable Leaves of Grass has been, engrossing poetry!
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Amen to that. Previously, I had only a brief acquaintance with a few of the poems, but reading the entire book (I'm nowhere near finished
reading the book, although I have finished
listened to the entire Librivox series) has been a mind-opener. I've never enjoyed poetry so much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fantasyfan
One of the most beautiful parts of Leaves is the later addition of the magnificent set of poems for Lincoln in "When Lilacs last in the Dooryard Bloomed" A particularly wonderful section is the "Death Carol":
DEATH CAROL.
16
Come, lovely and soothing Death,
Undulate round the world, serenely arriving, arriving,
In the day, in the night, to all, to each,
Sooner or later, delicate Death....
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All too many poets dwell endlessly on death and the negative aspects of the human experience, but Whitman seems to find beauty in everything, even in its closure.
"I am the poet of the body,
And I am the poet of the soul.
The pleasures of heaven are with me,
and the pains of hell are with me..."
(from "Song of Myself").