A poem is like a butterfly hung upon a bare wall: it's what you make of it... It can mean everything or nothing at all, depending on the reader. A poem can be truly appreciated only when fully understood and felt within. And if you understand a poem - if you feel it deep in your soul - you know, you know without a doubt.

I have chosen among the many poems Whitman included in his Leaves of Grass those I feel I have come closest to comprehending... They are not necessarily the most beautiful ones, they simply are the most beautiful to me...

(INSCRIPTIONS) ONE'S-SELF I SING

 SONG OF MY SELF 1 - 5 - 11

(CALAMUS) IN PATHS UNTRODDEN

(CALAMUS) WHEN I HEARD AT THE CLOSE OF THE DAY

(CALAMUS) O YOU WHOM I OFTEN AND SILENTLY COME

(SEA-DRIFT) TEARS

(DRUM TAPS) OVER THE CARNAGE ROSE PROPHETIC A VOICE

(MEMORIES OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN) O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!

(AUTUMN RIVULETS) THE CITY DEAD-HOUSE

(AUTUMN RIVULETS) TO A COMMON PROSTITUE

(WHISPERS OF HEAVENLY DEATH) AS IF A PHANTOM CARESS'D ME

STYLE - HOMEPAGE