O ME! O LIFE!

Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

O ME! O life!... of the questions of these recurring;

Of the endless trains of the faithless--of cities fill'd with the foolish;

Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)

Of eyes that vainly crave the light--of the objects mean--of the struggle ever renew'd;

Of the poor results of all--of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me;

Of the empty and useless years of the rest--with the rest me intertwined;

The question, O me! so sad, recurring--What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer.

That you are here--that life exists, and identity;

That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.