Poem by Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass. 21. Drum-Taps. 13. By the Bivouac's Fitful Flame

By the bivouac's fitful flame,
A procession winding around me, solemn and sweet and slow—but
      first I note,
The tents of the sleeping army, the fields' and woods' dim outline,
The darkness lit by spots of kindled fire, the silence,
Like a phantom far or near an occasional figure moving,
The shrubs and trees, (as I lift my eyes they seem to be stealthily
      watching me,)
While wind in procession thoughts, O tender and wondrous thoughts,
Of life and death, of home and the past and loved, and of those that
      are far away;
A solemn and slow procession there as I sit on the ground,
By the bivouac's fitful flame.

1. Leaves of Grass. 32. From Noon to Starry Night. 12. Mediums
2. Leaves of Grass. 32. From Noon to Starry Night. 16. From Far Dakota's Canyons [June 25, 1876]
3. Leaves of Grass. 35. Good-Bye My Fancy. 11. Shakspere-Bacon’s Cipher
4. Leaves of Grass. 20. By the Roadside. 24. Hast Never Come to Thee an Hour
5. Leaves of Grass. 21. Drum-Taps. 30. Race of Veterans

Print

1757 Views

Last Poems

To Russian version