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Leaves of Grass (1881-82)
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BY THE BIVOUAC'S FITFUL FLAME.
BY the bivouac's fitful flame, |
A procession winding around me, solemn and sweet and slow—but
first I note,
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The tents of the sleeping army, the fields' and woods' dim
outline,
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The darkness lit by spots of kindled fire, the silence, |
Like a phantom far or near an occasional figure moving, |
The shrubs and trees, (as I lift my eyes they seem to be stealthily
watching me,)
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While wind in procession thoughts, O tender and wondrous
thoughts,
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Of life and death, of home and the past and loved, and of those
that are far away;
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A solemn and slow procession there as I sit on the ground, |
By the bivouac's fitful flame. |
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