O Me! O Life! – Walt Whitman

O Me! O Life!…of the question of these recurring;

Of the endless trains of the faithless – Of cities filled with the foolish;

Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more faithless then I and who more foolish?)

Of the eyes that vainly crave the light – of the objects mean – of the struggle ever renewed;

Of the poor results of all – of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me;

Of the empty and useless years of the rest – with the rest me intertwined;

The question – O me! so sad recurring – What good amid these, O me! O life?

Answer:

That you are here – that life exists, and identity;

That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.

 

Advertisements