Whitman's American Wilderness

"Without enough wilderness, America will change. Democracy, with its myriad personalities and increasing sophistication, must be fibred and vitalized by regular contact with outdoor growths-animals, trees, sun warmth and free skies- or it will dwindle and pale." ~WaltWhitman

In # 16, Whitman writes, "Passing the visions, passing the night/passing, unloosing the hold of my comrades' hands/Passing the song of the hermit bird and the tallying song of my soul/Victorious song, death's outlet song, yet varying ever-altering song" (1076). In this poem and #15, Whitman intertwines the natural world with the sadness and gravity of war. 

In Live Oak with Moss, Whitman demonstrates through his own life that his work, accomplishment and recognition weren't completely satisfying to the soul the way the natural world was:

"When I heard at the close of the day how I had been praised in the Capitol, 
still it was not a happy night for me that followed;
Nor when I caroused-Nor when my favorite plans were accomplished-
was I really happy,
But that day I rose at dawn fom the bed of perfect health, electric, inhaling sweet breathe,
When I saw the full moon in the west grow pale and disappear in the morning light,
When I wandered over the beach, and undressing, bathed, laughing
 with the waters, and saw the sun rise, 
And when I thought how my friend, my lover, was coming, then O I was happy" (1085).

I think that Whitman can be misunderstood as "lazy" but his life shows that he had work, important work such as nursing the wounded soldiers.His work also included the responsibility of sharing his ideas with the world, which he did through self-publishing. He did things that require courage. I really think the natural world was and anchor and a balance for Whitman, that in times of suffering it was something he could turn to. Despite insecurity, he could come out from behind the pane of glass and  toss in the waves, and when our life work becomes overwhelming we can feel the accomplishment of, say, the hard work involved in a long hike.

This isn't from Whitman's poetry, but I love it, so I will share: 

" Master, I am a man who has perfect faith. Master, we have not come through centuries, caste, heroism, fables, to halt in this land today. Or I think it is to collect a ten-fold impetus that any halt is made. As nature, inexorable, onward, resistless, impassive amid the threats and screams of disputants, so America. Let all defer." -Letter to Ralph Waldo Emerson (1097).

It seems that Whitman viewed America as wild and diverse just like the land on which America was established. Maybe he thought that we would become less so as the land became less so. I think he has a point.