Skip to content
Linespedia

Hours Continuing Long

By Walt Whitman

Topics: classic

Hours continuing long, sore and heavy-hearted, Hours of the dusk, when I withdraw to a lonesome and unfrequented spot, seating myself, leaning my face in my hands; Hours sleepless, deep in the night, when I go forth, speeding swiftly the country roads, or through the city streets, or pacing miles and miles, stifling plaintive cries; Hours discouraged, distracted--for the one I cannot content myself without, soon I saw him content himself without me; Hours when I am forgotten, (O weeks and months are passing, but I believe I am never to forget!) Sullen and suffering hours! (I am ashamed--but it is useless--I am what I am;) Hours of my torment--I wonder if other men ever have the like, out of the like feelings? Is there even one other like me--distracted--his friend, his lover, lost to him? Is he too as I am now? Does he still rise in the morning, dejected, thinking who is lost to him? and at night, awaking, think who is lost? Does he too harbor his friendship silent and endless? harbor his anguish and passion? Does some stray reminder, or the casual mention of a name, bring the fit back upon him, taciturn and deprest? Does he see himself reflected in me? In these hours, does he see the face of his hours reflected?

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"Hours continuing long, sore and heavy-hearted,..."

Walt Whitman's contribution to classic is further solidified by the brilliance found in "Hours Continuing Long"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:Walt Whitman

Public Domain: This work is in the public domain and free to use.

"Hours continuing long, sore and heavy-hearted,..." by Walt Whitman

For usage rights, copyright concerns, or to report an issue with this content, please visit our Copyright & Report page.

Related lines

"Afoot and light-hearted, I take to the open road, Healthy, free, the world before me, The long brown path before me, leading wherever I choose. He"

"Ah poverties, wincings, and sulky retreats! Ah you foes that in conflict have overcome me! (For what is my life, or any man's life, but a conflict w"

"How solemn, as one by one, As the ranks returning, all worn and sweaty--as the men file by where I stand; As the faces, the masks appear--as I glanc"

"One sweeps by, attended by an immense train, All emblematic of peace - not a soldier or menial among them. One sweeps by, old, with black eyes, and"

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

Walt Whitman

About Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman (1819–1892) was an American poet who pioneered free verse with his collection "Leaves of Grass" (1855). His poem "Song of Myself" celebrates democracy, the body, and the interconnectedness of all life, and he is often called the father of modern American poetry.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"Afoot and light-hearted, I take to the open road, ..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

Get the most inspiring lines, poetic analysis, and secret shayaris delivered to your inbox every Sunday.