Song of Myself (Part 7) - Walt Whitman
On Birth, Death, and Our Shared Immortality
Has any one supposed it lucky to be born?
I hasten to inform him or her it is just as lucky to die, and I know it.
I pass death with the dying, and birth with the new-wash’d babe, and am not contained between my hat and boots,
And peruse manifold objects, no two alike, and every one good,
The earth good, and stars good, and their adjuncts all good.
I am not an earth nor an adjunct of an earth,
I am the mate and companion of people, all just as immortal and fathomless as myself;
(They do not know how immortal, but I know.)
Every kind for itself and its own…. for me mine male and female,
For me those that have been boys, and that shall be men, for me the sexes,
For me children and the begetters of children.
In Part 7 of Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself,” the poet challenges conventional ideas about existence, insisting that it is just as fortunate to be born as it is to die. Whitman’s perspective stems from his belief that life and death are intrinsically linked, each merely a step in a continuous, ever-transforming journey.
He declares himself uncontained by physical boundaries such as a hat and boots, implying a boundless consciousness. This sense of limitlessness extends into his conviction that everything in the universe is good: the Earth, stars, and all forms of life. By highlighting the natural splendor of each individual object—and noting that none are alike—Whitman underscores the wondrous variety in existence.
Yet Whitman is also careful to remind us of our shared bonds. Just as he speaks of himself as the “mate and companion of people,” he points to the common thread that ties us all together: an underlying, though sometimes unrecognized, immortality. Whitman believes we each partake in a vast, eternal life force. By affirming how “lucky” it is both to be born and to die, he removes the fear surrounding death, reframing it as part of an ongoing transformation rather than an end.
Children and future generations appear in these lines as evidence of continued renewal. For Whitman, life passes seamlessly from one generation to another, and every birth echoes the vital energy that transcends time. In that regard, no single moment—neither birth nor death—truly defines our entire being. Instead, both are points on a grand continuum that unites every living soul.
At its core, Part 7 celebrates the cyclical nature of existence. By embracing the natural flow of birth, death, and all that lies between, Whitman suggests a perspective that dismisses fear and encourages awe. We are, he asserts, part of an enduring whole—fathomless, divine, and bound to one another by a shared immortality that exists beyond the confines of individual experience.
Key points
• Birth and death are equally fortunate, connected stages of a never-ending cycle.
• Each object in the universe possesses inherent goodness and uniqueness.
• We share a profound bond that transcends physical boundaries and traditional notions of mortality.
• Children and future generations symbolize the eternal thread of life.
• Whitman’s vision transforms death from a feared finality into a doorway to continued existence.