Full of Life, Now
Full of Life, Now - meaning Summary
Address to Future Readers
Whitman, writing at forty in the young republic, speaks directly to readers centuries hence. He presents himself as "full of life" yet anticipates becoming invisible, treating his poems as a bridge that makes him present to future companions. The speaker invites later readers to imagine fellowship with him and to enact his company, while gently admitting uncertainty about literal presence. The poem is an assertion of poetic continuity across time.
Read Complete AnalysesFULL of life, now, compact, visible, I, forty years old the Eighty-third Year of The States, To one a century hence, or any number of centuries hence, To you, yet unborn, these, seeking you. When you read these, I, that was visible, am become invisible; Now it is you, compact, visible, realizing my poems, seeking me; Fancying how happy you were, if I could be with you, and become your comrade; Be it as if I were with you. (Be not too certain but I am now with you.)
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