As you know, this week we've been looking at Whitman's poems that are a tribute to President Lincoln. Each week we have a discussion FORUM based on the readings, and today I was reading a post written by a fellow classmate--she said something like--we don't respect the president of the United States like we once did, like in Whitman's time. She's right. Of course, there are some who do respect the president, but as a whole, we don't. Her thoughts have made me appreciate Whitman's poems more. I find myself re-reading them and wondering what has happened to us that we have lost our appreciation for our leaders.
In, "Hush'd Be the Camps To-day," Whitman says, "No more for him life's stormy conflicts / Nor victory, nor defeat--no more time's dark events / Charging like ceaseless clouds across the sky." I like the line--no more for him life's stormy conflicts. I've been thinking that no matter what leader you are, you always have to deal with people's crap. I think Lincoln dealt with one of the worst types of conflict--having your own country at war with itself had to have been extremely difficult. North or South--they were all his people and he stayed steadfast and true, he didn't waiver.
It must've been extremely difficult for the soldiers that fought for him, for the cause to end slavery in America. "As they invault the coffin there / Sing--as they close the doors of earth upon him--one verse / For the heavy hearts of soldiers." I think these last few lines are very touching. Whitman tells us to sing--one verse, to help ease the pain of the soldiers, Lincoln's men. I didn't think I like this poem as much as the other tribute poems, but today I feel I may like this one the most. It is written so honestly and it pulls at my heartstrings. The poems opening line is the same as its title --Hush'd be the camps today. I would imagine upon news of Abe's death that there was a lot silence. In my readings this week, I read that in Whitman's own household, there was nothing but silence, as the family consumed every newspaper and every detail of Lincoln's assassination. To feel so much grief and hurt that it takes your words away is amazing to me. I think Whitman wrote these poems as an emotional release.
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