I saw an evergreen oak tree growing in Louisiana.
It stood alone, moss hanging from the branches,
Without any companions, it grows there, emitting dark green happy leaves.
And its appearance, rough, straight and strong, reminds me of myself.
But I was surprised that it stood there alone without a friend, how could it send out happy leaves, because I knew I couldn't.
So I broke a twig, and there were some leaves and a small piece of moss wrapped around it.
I took it home and put it where I could see it in my room.
Now I don't need it to remind my dear friend,
(Because I feel that I didn't think of anything else except them recently)
However, it is still a wonderful symbol for me, which reminds me of resolute love;
Nevertheless, although this evergreen oak tree shines alone in a wide and flat clearing in Louisiana,
Leaves that exude joy have no friends or lovers around them all their lives.
But I know very well that I can't do it.
(translated by Zou Jiang)
This poem depicts an evergreen oak tree in the southern United States in a unique way, but this description is completely different from Williams' description of young oak trees and is objective. Here, from this southern oak tree, we can see the poet's thoughts and ideals.
In this poem, the poet first describes the oak tree, and then says it reminds him of himself. Here, the poet reveals his thoughts of fraternity and pantheism. In his opinion, he belongs to the same class as the oak tree. If anything, he thinks he is inferior to the oak tree. In Whitman's view, God exists in all things, so every tiny creature or object contains a vast world and is sacred and inviolable. He is connected with everything, so he can see himself in everything.
The poet envies the evergreen oak tree growing in the south, its joy, sturdiness and straightness, and its ability to endure loneliness in the wilderness. He is not only envious, but also ashamed. Of course, this comparison can never be regarded as a comparison between plants and people, and then it will be meaningless; First of all, we must enter the situation of the unity of things and me to understand the profound meaning of this poem. "I" may be a person, a plant, everything or nothing; Similarly, an oak tree may be a plant, a person, or nothing. Everything. The stipulation of their existence is uncertain. Otherwise, if we classify them as traditional attributes, we will feel that there is no possibility of comparison.
In this poem, the poet doesn't seem to realize that the oak tree is just a plant. On the contrary, he thought it was his friend because he broke a branch and took it home. When he saw it, he didn't think of his friend, that is to say, twig had become his friend. Not only that, he doesn't even have to think about other things. In his view, human love is also condensed on this twig, just like a shell can peep at the noise of the sea. Whitman is a person who likes outdoor life. He worships his naked and innocent body like God. He worships everything in nature like his own body. He has never been married, perhaps because he worships himself, or because he feels that he should not love only one specific person, but the whole human and nature. He worships that tree because it has a man's love. Therefore, in this poem, his love, democracy and universal thinking are well reflected, and he hopes that human beings can get along and survive in this way; At the same time, he also placed his ideal of "the soul of the universe".
Although this poem has many narrative languages, it is full of poetry and vividly describes the oak tree. For example, works full of human feelings such as "Lonely Seeking Failure", "Leaves with Dark Green Joy" and "No Friends Around" have narrowed the distance between this oak tree and human beings and made "I" easier to be compared with this oak tree.
From this poem, we can further see that Whitman is worthy of being the son of nature and the son of the people. His poems have got rid of the shackles of tradition from content to form, thus approaching man and nature. Although his poems were criticized by his colleagues in the poetry circle at first (John Greenleaf Whittier even threw the first edition of Leaves of Grass into the stove), he did not waver. 1855, Emerson read his first edition of Leaves of Grass and wrote to him, saying, "I think this is an extraordinary work of talent and wisdom, unprecedented in America ... with unparalleled content and expression."
What he said is absolutely true.
Yihai