The section “Songs of Parting” brings Whitman’s poetry full circle from “Song of Myself”. “Song of Myself” centers around learning to love ones self, and understand one’s part in the universe as an important part of the whole chain of being. Here Whitman begins by saying that when one finally finds himself, it is his time to go onto to the next stage of being.
Whitman speaks about America, and Europe, and how technology has made the world a smaller place and that hopefully it will help to unite the world, to unite all of mankind. “With the steamship, the electric telegraph, the newspaper, the wholesale engines of war, With these and the world-spreading factories he interlinks all geography, all lands; What whispers are these O lands, running ahead of you, passing under the seas? Are all nations communing? is there going to be but one heart to the globe?” Just as Whitman loves America, and decomcracy, and the unity of all different types of men within one country, Whiman loves the different men of every country. Starting with the unity of America, Whitman hopes that this unity can spread across the globe and unite the people of the world.
Like in “Song of Myself”, here Whitman also looks at all of the splendor of life. “Wonderful to depart! Wonderful to be here! The heart, to jet the all-alike and innocent blood! To breathe the air, how delicious! To speak – to walk – to seize something by the hand! To prepare for sleep, for bed, to look on my rose color’d flesh! To be concious of my body, so satisfied, so large! To be this incredible God I am! To have gone forth among other Gods, these men and women I love!” Whitman seems a bit more humbled here, and is appreciative of all the little things in life that make us human, that bind us all. He goes on to appreciate all of the workings of nature and the world, and says, “For I do not see one imperfection in the universe, And I do not see one cause or result lamentable at last in the universe”. As in “Song of Myself”, every part of the universe is beautiful and important.
Although many of the same ideas flow through Whitman’s poetry, the changes that Whitman has gone through are subtly apparent. Although he is expressing much of the same ideas, the same love of mankind, and America, and nature, he seems much more humbled in these peoms, wiser and more cautious with his words. He is not writing to get a reaction, or to call people to arms, or to stir the fire, he is simply passing on his love of life, nature, and mankind through the recollection of his experiences throughout his life. It seems as though Whitman feels that the world is moving in the right direction, and that mankind needs to embrace the benefits of change, and understand that the universe is a living being that cannot be stopped, but must be accepted and appreciated.
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