Song of Myself Friendship Quotes Page 2
(Section)
| Quote #4 A gigantic beauty of a stallion, fresh and responsive to my caresses, His nostrils dilate . . . . my heels embrace him . . . . his well built limbs tremble with pleasure . . . . we speed around and return. (section 32) |
In addition to people, the speaker develops the bonds of friendship with animals and also with non-living things. He expresses his love and affection through touching and body contact, as you see here when the horse is "responsive to my caresses."
| Quote #5 Man or woman! I might tell how I like you, but cannot, Behold I do not give lectures or a little charity, You there, impotent, loose in the knees, open your scarfed chops till I blow grit within you, I do not ask who you are . . . . that is not important to me, To a drudge of the cottonfields or emptier of privies I lean . . . . on his right cheek I put the family kiss, |
The idea of confiding and telling secrets occurs several times in the poem. The speaker has a secret to tell other people but is not able to do so, probably because language itself is not sufficient. Instead, he shows his affection through actions, by supporting those whom society would normally marginalize. He often compares himself very subtly to Jesus Christ. At the end of this passage, the statement "I never will deny him" refers to Jesus' friend and disciple Peter, who famously denied Jesus three times after he was captured.
| Quote #6 Listener up there! Here you . . . . what have you to confide to me? |
At the end of the poem, the speaker tells the friend he's talking to (us!) that he will be leaving on his trip, so we shouldn't waste the chance to confide in him. This "journey" might be a metaphor for death.
