The Walt Whitman Archive
Published Works
Books by Whitman
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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,
slow;—but first I note,
The tents of the sleeping army, the fields' and woods'
dim outline,
dim outline,
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 left my eyes they seem to
be stealthily watching me;)
be stealthily watching me;)
While wind in procession thoughts, O tender and
wondrous thoughts,
wondrous thoughts,
Of life and death—of home and the past and loved,
and of those that are far away;
and of those that are far away;
A solemn and slow procession there as I sit on the
ground,
ground,
By the bivouac's fitful flame.