The Unclad Soul

"O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring;   Of the endless trains of the faithless—of cities fill’d with the foolish;   Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)   Of eyes that vainly crave the light—of the objects mean—of the struggle ever renew’d;   Of the poor results of all—of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me;   Of the empty and useless years of the rest—with the rest, me intertwined;   The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?   Answer.   That you are here—that life exists, and identity;   That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse."   ~ Walt Whitman