Happy Wednesday! We are almost through Part I of Leaves of Grass, isn’t that neat?

  Thither as I look I see each result and glory retracing itself and
      nestling close, always obligated,
  Thither hours, months, years—thither trades, compacts,
      establishments, even the most minute,
  Thither every-day life, speech, utensils, politics, persons, estates;
  Thither we also, I with my leaves and songs, trustful, admirant,
  As a father to his father going takes his children along with him.

This week’s poem is called “Savantism.”

Vocabulary Word of the Day:
Savant: a learned person, especially a distinguished scientist.

This poem threw me off at first — I wasn’t sure what the poem is about. But slow and steady wins the race, right? The poem seems like a leaf, gently swaying and blowing in the breeze, landing here and there (or should I say thither). Hither and thither?

I’m not sure what the third line means, the every-day life, speech, utensils. Is Whitman saying these are the things that we carry with us everywhere we go? Is this a poem about baggage?

In the last two lines, I think the leaves and songs that Whitman refers to are his poems. His poems are savants, wise and trustful beings, that Whitman carries along with him much as a father takes his children on trips.

I’ve been really enjoying the nature imagery and the light-hearted spirituality of the most recent set of poems. When I read them, the pages glow bright green in my mind, as if I were walking through a bamboo forest.

***

As always, I invite you to join me. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or send me a link to your own #WhitmanWednesday posts and I’ll share them as well!