Camps Of Green

Walt Whitman 1819 (West Hills) – 1892 (Camden)




   NOT alone those camps of white, O soldiers,
   When, as order'd forward, after a long march,
   Footsore and weary, soon as the light lessen'd, we halted for the
         night;
   Some of us so fatigued, carrying the gun and knapsack, dropping
         asleep in our tracks;
   Others pitching the little tents, and the fires lit up began to
         sparkle;
   Outposts of pickets posted, surrounding, alert through the dark,
   And a word provided for countersign, careful for safety;
   Till to the call of the drummers at daybreak loudly beating the
         drums,
   We rose up refresh'd, the night and sleep pass'd over, and resumed
         our journey,
   Or proceeded to battle.                                            10

   Lo! the camps of the tents of green,
   Which the days of peace keep filling, and the days of war keep
         filling,
   With a mystic army, (is it too order'd forward? is it too only
         halting awhile,
   Till night and sleep pass over?)

   Now in those camps of green--in their tents dotting the world;
   In the parents, children, husbands, wives, in them--in the old and
         young,
   Sleeping under the sunlight, sleeping under the moonlight, content
         and silent there at last,
   Behold the mighty bivouac-field, and waiting-camp of all,
   Of corps and generals all, and the President over the corps and
         generals all,
   And of each of us, O soldiers, and of each and all in the ranks we
         fought,                                                      20
   (There without hatred we shall all meet.)

   For presently, O soldiers, we too camp in our place in the bivouac-
         camps of green;
   But we need not provide for outposts, nor word for the countersign,
   Nor drummer to beat the morning drum.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:23 min read
110

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXAXBXXCXDAXXDC EXBDXX XFXXXGFGDXX XEEX
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,767
Words 273
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 15, 6, 11, 4

Walt Whitman

Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. more…

All Walt Whitman poems | Walt Whitman Books

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