Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
- Whitman claims that if he could not participate in the sunrise, it would kill him.
- He describes how his voice tries to describe spiritual truths – things you cannot see with your eyes.
- He imagines that his speech mocks him for not being able to express in words the things he understands.
- Whitman responds to this charge by claiming that the truths he wants to express have not blossomed yet in the world. He is like a prophet.
- He doesn't need to express what he knows and doesn't need spoken words to validate him.