"The Base of All Metaphysics"

I think Whitman longed to confess to his readers that he was attracted to men. Maybe he wanted to be truthful, honest with them. Perhaps he felt that not revealing his true identity made his poems less to his audience. As a reader, do we need to know everything about a writer? I don't, but knowing makes things more fascinating. Writers tend to put themselves into their work. I think knowing the writer can help with understanding. There are so many topics that Whitman addresses in his poetry, and I would be lost if I didn't know a bit of his background. 

I think knowing is sexual preference explains a lot of strange statements that come up in his poetry, but I also think not knowing allows me to interpret them as a I see fit from my own perspective. And, let's face it, I find myself and my own thoughts way more fascinating than his. If I can draw a parallel from my own life and make his poem all about me, I will. I contradict myself because I contain multitudes too!

In this poem, Whitman says, "The dear love of man for his comrade, the attraction of friend to friend / Of the well-married husband and wife, of children and parents, / Of city for city and land for land." I feel like Whitman is talking about all relationships and how they should all be accepted. Whitman wanted love to prevail about all else - I truly believe that. Who are we to judge if he found happiness with a male companion. My mother is probably rolling her eyes at me, but seriously, no one in this world is perfect. I am flawed, Whitman is flawed, and you are flawed. I think that is what makes Whitman such a great poet--he isn't perfect, he doesn't need to be propped on a pedestal, he's not immortal --he made mistakes, he lived his life the best he could, and he tried to give America a voice. He says, "See the philosophies all" and I think that every culture is different and yet I think that he saw every culture could also be the same. Or maybe he didn't think it mattered--what each culture preached and believed in, maybe love only mattered. 

Someone used to tell me, " I don't know if right or wrong, but I know if it's good or bad." Think about that, I think each person will have their own perspective.