When I viewed Whitman artifacts at the Library of Congress, I was able to see some pages of these notebooks in which Whitman kept track of the men he met and what they needed. These photos are actually from the Library of Congress rather my own, but they are clearer. I thought you might like to see just a few of his notes.
This is my February 10th work. 🙂
In these pages, it seems that Whitman is grateful he can have sensations at all. Sensuous acts or simply breathing the same air alongside another makes him whole. It’s this wholeness, and ability to satisfy his every waking desire, that provides a sense of control. Human connection drives his every action. How he views others either helps in the short-term for his libido or long-term for the betterment of himself. Though this feels almost carnal and selfish when scrawled in this fashion, it still illuminates how freeing it is to live without worry of the outside world. If Walt Whitman had luscious locks (other than his Santa beard), I’d say this is his way of letting his hair down and welcoming readers to do the same. It is an invitation to leave caution to the wind and express your natural desires; maybe even heighten them. New stigmas present themselves in every era of how someone should carry themselves, dress themselves, aspire to be, but what remains the same throughout history is the desire to be loved and seen.
This could be seen as retroactive, but it was interesting to read about a man being described in a sexual manner and letting the ladies have a breather. Though he did end up going into intense detail about women’s bodies, it was done so after his steamy daydream of masculinity. He then takes the original point and has a field day describing what attracts him so much to men; which leads us back to the idea of blessed expression and how important it is to have an outlet to revel in our healthy sexual desires.
Anyways all this to say, keep the sex poems coming Walt.