"To think of time"

"....

The law of the past cannot be eluded.
The law of the present and future cannot be eluded,
The law of the living cannot be eluded .... it is eternal,
The law of promotion and transformation cannot be eluded,
The law of heroes and good-doers cannot be eluded,
The law of drunkards and informers and mean persons cannot be eluded"

"I swear I see now that every thing has an eternal soul!
The trees have, rooted in the ground .... the weeds of the sea have .... the animals.

I swear I think there is nothing but immortality!
That the exquisite scheme is for it, and the nebulous float is for it, and the cohering is for it,
And all preparation is for it .. and identity is for it .. and life and death are for it."


Walt Whitman, "Leaves of Grass" The First Edition (1855): Excerpts from "To think of time"