Day 294: Quicksand Years

 

What I love about Walt Whitman is his unparalleled focus and exalting of the Self. 

Here he makes a very valid point: 'One's-self must never give way - that is the final substance - that out of all is/ sure...' Amidst all the goings-on in the world, and those 'quicksand years' that threaten to drag us down, we must never give ourselves away. 

(Note how 'sure' rests on its own to highlight it, almost like a firm self standing strong in a vague universe...)

 

Quicksand Years - Walt Whitman

Quicksand years that whirl me I know not whither,
Your schemes, politics, fail-lines give way-substances mock and elude me;
Only the theme I sing, the great and strong-possess'd soul, eludes not,
One's-self must never give way - that is the final substance - that out of all is
     sure,
Out of politics, triumphs, battles, life, what at last finally remains?
When shows break up, what but One's-Self is sure?