"A child said What is the grass? Fetching it to me with full hands." Walt Whitman's opening in the sixth section of "song of Myself" caught me. As a reader, I was captured in the sentiment by a visual depiction of his words. I imagined a sweet child holding feathered grass in has palms as he contemplates the question with serious intent. The depth of this piece continues with an honest answer which is , what I would consider, a rarity to such a situation. I wouldn't say that adults are vicious in the partial truths they tell. Often I 've seen or participated in a shortened answer to a child just for lack of interest or time. The poetic, descriptive language and repetition of syllables and phrases seemed particularly flowing and beautiful as Whitman approaches grass as "the handkerchief of the Lord" and "a scented gift."

A reoccurring theme throughout Whitman's work is human equality. The significance of the subtle message that grass grows around all men and women is indiscriminate. His views on the matter appear childlike and pure. Station and race should not define a person, and to most children, they don't. I would call his work rhetorical as I sense it is written with a specific purpose, a message to the reader, hidden in florid language. It's not a lament or a story poem meant only to entertain. He suggests and inserts his views and observations.

The movement continues with grass representing profound things including "the uncut hair of graves." This perspective takes on the question of a connection to generations of the dead and his distinct view of an afterlife. The undertone of a connection to an afterlife is answered by him "they are all alive and well somewhere." The passage suggests a link among all that live and have passed on. I found it hopeful and was very interested by his choice of a final word as he described the dead. "Luckier"

Emily Dickinson's work was very concise and I found it more simplistic in meaning,. I did connect to poem 372. It was painful, but easy to relate to. Every reader, at some point, has experienced "great pain." The way we may tend to pull away from our emotions in an effort to protect ourselves and become numb is depicted well. The examples are original and unique, but make sense. Examples that did this would include "mechanical wooden feet" and the reference to "quartz contentment." The downward movement in the last sentence brings relief and closure. We're reminded of the process of reprieve from all the pain, "letting go."