My non-consecutive quotes:

  "All goes onward and outward...and nothing collapses," (5)

  "If I could not now and always send sunrise out of me." (18)

  "All these I feel or am." (27)


I appreciate these subtle motifs of perpetuation/projection and how they accentuate the major themes found in the poem.  Whitman saturates "Song of Myself" with themes of interconnectivity to all objects, animate or otherwise.  There's this feeling of companionship throughout the poem, a togetherness manifested on every page.  The ever-present instances of unity and the infinite really define the poem in its progressiveness.  This ideology of the reincarnate, the outward, the adjoining gives "Song of Myself" a sense of self, as far as I, the reader, am concerned.  As though it is a message to myself from the inner-self rather than an outside source.  As though I already possess this wisdom, I'm just recalling.

I was also reminded of Rumi, "do not feel lonely, the entire universe is inside you."  The poem integrates the reader, the speaker and all that surrounds them.  There is no isolation in Whitman's poem, there is no opportunity for it since he emphasizes the importance of continuity.  There's a comfort in these quotes which allows for reassurance throughout the poem as a whole.  Also, these quotes create a strong sense of spirituality and understanding that is a refreshing contrast to religious contexts.  I admire how Whitman can make me feel so relaxed and at ease within forty-four pages, how he reminds us to embrace everything inside and outside of us and have some relationship with something greater than ourselves.