Poem by Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass. 21. Drum-Taps. 35. How Solemn As One by One [Washington City, 1865]

How solemn as one by one,
As the ranks returning worn and sweaty, as the men file by where stand,
As the faces the masks appear, as I glance at the faces studying the masks,
(As I glance upward out of this page studying you, dear friend,
      whoever you are,)
How solemn the thought of my whispering soul to each in the ranks,
      and to you,
I see behind each mask that wonder a kindred soul,
O the bullet could never kill what you really are, dear friend,
Nor the bayonet stab what you really are;
The soul! yourself I see, great as any, good as the best,
Waiting secure and content, which the bullet could never kill,
Nor the bayonet stab O friend.

1. Leaves of Grass. 32. From Noon to Starry Night. 9. Excelsior
2. Leaves of Grass. 34. Sands at Seventy. 11. The Wallabout Martyrs
3. Leaves of Grass. 34. Sands at Seventy. 43. The Dying Veteran
4. Leaves of Grass. 5. Calamus. 38. That Shadow My Likeness
5. Leaves of Grass. 20. By the Roadside. 28. Offerings

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