Read "Wherefore?" by Walt Whitman online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
O me! O life! -- of the questions of these recurring; / Of the endless trains of the faithless -- of cities filled with the foolish; / Of myself for ever 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 renewed; / 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.