Endlessly Rocking Emotions I have decided to write my personal response essay on the poem Out of the Cradle Endlessly

Rocking, written by Walt Whitman during the year eighteen fifty-nine. In the poem, Whitman looks back on past experiences as a young boy. He becomes an observer that unites the present time and the eternal that comes after, closely paying attention to all details, so that he may reflect upon the past. Through the poem, Whitman reflects upon the observational experience that led him to an epiphany concerning the truth about death and what it does to the bonds created by love, which can be connected to through the implementation of text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world. Through analyzing the text, I am able relate with what it means to be an observer who looks on at anothers loss. The he-bird, separated from his mate, experiences deep despair and longing for his mate, which is expressed by how he implores the sea-winds to blow his mate back to him as he waits. In his despair he seeks to be soothed by the waves, continuously lapping up against the shore, so that he may feel an embrace with the hope to be consoled, but consolation does not come because it is not his mates love that consoles him. As I look back to the spring of two thousand ten, the year my mothers father passed away, I feel as though I now have a better understanding of the sorrow, grief, and longing she felt after losing the first man she ever created a bond with. From the time she was born, through her childhood and adolescence, she and her father built an irreplaceable bond. Whenever I looked at the glass trinket that my mother bought that said If I could build a staircase to heaven, I would climb up it just so I could see you again, I thought that she must truly be suffering without him, but now it is clear to me that she not only misses him, but also the lifelong bond that she had built with him. I now

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understand a bit more how my mother felt to have death separate not only her and her father, but the deep bond that they shared. After reading the poem multiple, I have found that I can relate the loss caused by death in Out of Cradle Endlessly Rocking to the loss caused by death in the story of the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet. In both texts, the lovers are separated by forces that they have no control over. The he-bird sings of his determination to endure all obstacles that will try to prevent him from being with his mate such as: blowing winds, darkness, rivers, and mountains. Romeo and Juliet also show their determination to be together, through their dual defiance of the wishes of their families that loathe each other. Due to Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking, I can understand the strong feelings incorporated in deeply loving another being, and by incorporating the actions that can be caused by deeply loving someone, which are expressed in Romeo and Juliet, I am able to understand that grief through loss can have adverse effects on remaining lover. To the world, I believe Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking teaches appreciation. By appreciation, I mean valuing the bonds that are made with others. In the poem, it is apparent that the he-bird deeply values his bond with his mate. The bond between the two is so deep that they would endure all kinds of hardship to be together and protect the eggs that they produced. Although the he-bird wallows in grief and longing and his mate disappears, he still has the valuable experiences that they shared and the happy memories they made together. From what I believe, it feels as though the poem is trying leave an impression that will make members of society value the bonds they have with each other, so that they may also experience deep bonds that may only come once in their lifetime. The opportunity to value those bonds and develop them will not always be available, so it is important to value them when they can be dually valued, instead of valued while reminiscing.
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Bonds broken, loved ones separated, and wasted opportunity are some the things that death brings. The poem Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking represents these things with strong emotions, but after looking at the truth of death from this one perspective I wonder if there is more than one truth. When multiple people are asked to define love, or what is true about it, there are often many answers. Death, like love, should have its own collection of truths to be explored. But the real question is where to begin? Perhaps one could start by exploring how death can bring forth new life and usher growth.

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