Poem by Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass. 21. Drum-Taps. 19. Not the Pilot

Not the pilot has charged himself to bring his ship into port,
      though beaten back and many times baffled;
Not the pathfinder penetrating inland weary and long,
By deserts parch'd, snows chill'd, rivers wet, perseveres till he
      reaches his destination,
More than I have charged myself, heeded or unheeded, to compose
      march for these States,
For a battle-call, rousing to arms if need be, years, centuries hence.

1. Leaves of Grass. 34. Sands at Seventy. 42. While Not the Past Forgetting
2. Leaves of Grass. 21. Drum-Taps. 35. How Solemn As One by One [Washington City, 1865]
3. Leaves of Grass. 30. Whispers of Heavenly Death. 5. Yet, Yet, Ye Downcast Hours
4. Leaves of Grass. 35. Good-Bye My Fancy. 7. The Pallid Wreath
5. Leaves of Grass. 34. Sands at Seventy. 28. Old Salt Kossabone

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