[Ashes of heroes]
| Ashes of
heroes,
? soldiers,
blended |
| with ashes of roses |
| & lilacs, |
| Ashes cerulean
blended
fused
with |
| the ashes of gray, |
| Ashes of pine & palmetto |
| blended, |
| Ashes of North and South—ashes |
| of East & West, |
| Ashes of seaboard & inland |
| ashes of
valle
prairie,
& |
| hill & valley rich |
|
| |
A
s
S
acred aroma & powd
|
| powder‑odor & dust |
| immortal, |
| curious |
|
| |
| |
|
|
leaf 2 recto |
| The Soul of their Ashes |
|
rising,
?risen
|
|
|
-
Date
- This manuscript was likely composed around 1870-1871, when Whitman was revising and expanding
the poem "Hymn of Dead Soldiers," originally published in Drum-Taps (1865), for republication as
"Ashes of Soldiers."
-
Editorial note
- This manuscript appears to be draft material for the two linegroups Whitman added in
1871. The added lines, along with the title change,
introduce the new imagery of ashes.
- The verso of leaf #1 is blank.
- The verso of leaf #2 is blank.
-
Location
- Beat! Beat! Drums! | The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman,
Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
-
Whitman Archive ID
- loc.00054
|
