Analysis:Īs is common in Whitman's work, this poem does not have a formal rhyme scheme or structure. He then concludes that death is different and much "luckier" than he had previously believed. He decides that they are alive and well somewhere the sprouts of the grass indicate that death is not permanent because it leads to new life. He asks for the reader's opinion on what happened to these men, women, and children but then answers his own question. The speaker wishes he could translate the grass' hints about the individuals who lie beneath it.
He remarks that the grass is very dark to have come from the white hair of old mothers or the colorless beards of old men. It may have grown out of the remains of old people, women, or children who died too young. It may have come from the breasts of young men whom he might have loved. He pronounces that he will "tenderly use" the grass, considering the possibilities of its origin. Then, he writes that the grass seems like the "beautiful uncut hair of graves." He then calls it a "uniform hieroglyphic," pointing out that it grows around all people regardless of race or identity. Next he muses that the grass is also child (of the vegetation). Then he calls it the "handkerchief the Lord," intended to remind us of His power. First, he calls the grass "the flag of my disposition," woven from his own hopes. He goes on to ponder possible responses to the query.
This poem begins with a child asking a simple question: "What is the grass?" The speaker muses that it is hard for him to answer the child, since he hardly knows any better than the child does.