O Me! O Life!

"Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,
Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,
Of myself forever 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 renew’d,
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 may contribute a verse."

-Walt Whitman

To me, this poem is the way the poet interprets the meaning of life. The poet sees life viewed as a depressing and foolish thing, but he thinks that every one person has a role and a "verse" that they can put into this world. It's a struggle to live, and it's easy to see the people who live with no faith. The author is in the same mindset, but the thing he has is hope.

I really like this poem. It's kind of how me (at this point) on my view of the world. Obviously it can't be proved true or false, but it's nice for me to know that there's a famous and smart person who shares the same ideals as I do.