Go to menus

» posted on Sunday, November 6th, 2011 at 9:05 pm by Andy D

 

America the Beautiful Day 5: Poetry

Better late than never….

I am a day late on the latest installment of America the Beautiful.  However, I am planning on posting twice today, so hopefully that will make up for it.

If you are a poetry student, or an enthusiast for the American Civil War, it’s hard not to come across the writings of Walt Whitman.  Whitman was alive during the war and used his poetry to express his feelings on it during that time.  My favorite poem of his was written about the assassination of President Lincoln.  The captain he speaks of is the President, and the ship, our great nation.  I’ve always felt this poem probably captured the feelings of the nation at the end of the Civil War.  The nation had just come out of a bloody conflict, it looked like the states would be brought back together, and the man who lead the country through that crucible, is violently killed.  How would you have felt at the time?

O Captain! my Captain!

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought
        is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring,
     But O heart! heart! heart!
          O the bleeding drops of red,
               Where on the deck my Captain lies,
                    Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores
        a‑crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning,
     Here, Captain! dear father!
          This arm beneath your head;
               It is some dream that on the deck
                    You’ve fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed
        and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
     Exult, O shores, and ring O bells!
          But I with mournful tread
               Walk the deck my Captain lies,
                    Fallen cold and dead.
 

filed under Uncategorized | one Comment

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “America the Beautiful Day 5: Poetry”

  1. Political Friends Blog | 31 Days of Blogging: America the Beautiful said:

    Nov 06, 11 at 9:06 pm

    [...] Day 5: Poetry [...]

Leave a Reply

 

« »
 
 
 

» archives