Oh Me! Oh Life!

Program Note:

The thing that first struck me to this particular poem by Whitman was the interplay between “I”, “we”, and “you”. There is this beautiful back and forth of positionality; the moments in which the “we” is addressed: the faithless | the foolish | the eyes | the poor results of all | the plodding and sordid crowds... and the moments where Whitman uses “I” to come inward: Of myself | for who more foolish than I | I see around me | with the rest of me intertwined...To highlight these nuances, I have, at times, broken up the full choir (the “we”) into smaller choirs (the “I”): groups of two, four, and six to reflect these shifts in point of view. The missing piece, of course is the “you” which appears as the answer to all of the questioning. What I love about this answer is how wonderfully brief, yet clear it is. For as much complication as there is in the world, to Whitman, what is important is the realization that life even exists at all. It will go on far past our own and you have an opportunity to say your piece. To contribute your verse.

This poem also took on a more specific meaning to me in light of recent events. The idea of contributing “a verse” could never be more important than it is now. We are in a rare and fragile state where must rely on others to keep us safer as a whole. In a strange way, the “we”, “I”, and “you” are merged right now. It is our collective verse that will get us to the other side.

Oh me! Oh 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 of 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 may contribute a verse.

- Walt Whitman
from Leaves of Grass (1892)

Oh Me! Oh Life! was commissioned by Stare at the Sun for the concert entitled The American Book of Psalms: Leaves of Grass and the American Dream