One Sweeps by
One Sweeps by - meaning Summary
A Procession of Old Age
The poem depicts a calm, ceremonial procession of elderly figures moving with dignity and gentle power. Whitman observes an individual followed by groups of three, emphasizing health, white hair, black eyes, and an almost luminous presence. The passage combines physical details and sensory imagery—handholding, perfume—to portray aging as communal, graceful, and wholesome rather than pitiable. The tone is celebratory and quietly reverent toward old age and human continuity.
Read Complete AnalysesONE sweeps by, attended by an immense train, All emblematic of peace—not a soldier or menial among them. One sweeps by, old, with black eyes, and profuse white hair, He has the simple magnificence of health and strength, His face strikes as with flashes of lightning whoever it turns toward. Three old men slowly pass, followed by three others, and they by three others, They are beautiful—the one in the middle of each group holds his companions by the hand, As they walk, they give out perfume wherever they walk.
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