Hours Continuing Long

The poem falls neatly into two halves, with a transition of two lines. Lines 1 to 6 focus on Whitman’s state of mind. In Lines 7 and 8 (the transition), he thinks in general terms of the possible feelings of other men. Then in Lines 9 to 12, he wonders what his friend is feeling and speculates about whether, although apart, they are both experiencing the same kind of emotions.

Line 1, the shortest line, announces the poem’s theme: the slow passage of time and the sorrow of the speaker. Lines 2 and 3 are longer, which suggests in the form of the poem the endlessly stretching hours. These two lines also proceed chronologically, from dusk (Line 2) through to nighttime (Line 3). These lines are set outside, in public places, where one might expect to find other people. However, the solitary Whitman deliberately seeks out an isolated spot (Line 2) and then tramps the deserted streets “deep in the night” (Line 3), likely encountering no one and certainly not talking to anyone. He is so enveloped by his private afflictions that he has no interest in—and no emotional resources for—interacting with others. Indeed, he seems close to tears, “stifling plaintive cries” (Line 3).

Only in Line 4 does he begin an exposition of why he is feeling so heartsick, while continuing the theme of the endless procession of hours. He reveals that there is another man involved, and Whitman believes that he cannot live happily without this man. It thus becomes apparent that Whitman is distressed by the presumably recent loss of a close relationship. He also believes that the man involved is quite content without having Whitman in his life: “I saw him content himself without me” (Line 4). Whitman now grapples with the anguish of love gone cold, and in this poem, he seems ill-equipped to do so. He believes that his friend has forgotten him (Line 5); the parenthetical reference in that line to the passing of weeks and months suggests that some time has passed since the rupture of the friendship. However, Whitman’s feelings remain raw; he cannot forget.

In Line 6, Whitman admits that he is ashamed, perhaps because he cannot get over the loss and believes that is what he should do. Yet he adds immediately: “but it is useless—I am what I am” (Line 6). He might be saying that it is useless to feel ashamed because, given the kind of man he is, it is inevitable that he will feel the way he does. He is struggling but also pushing himself toward self-acceptance.

In “torment” (Line 7), enveloped in loneliness, and without anyone to talk to, Whitman reaches out in his thoughts to find some commonality with others: If there are other men who have ever suffered, or do suffer now, as he does, it might ease his feelings of isolation and depression. In Line 8, he narrows his speculation: Is there just one person like himself, who has suffered such a loss in love? He seems to believes that perhaps he is different from others, somehow unique in his misery.

The remainder of the poem consists of questions. Whitman focuses not on himself or in musings about what others might have experienced but exclusively on the man who has deserted him. He has thus moved in the poem from self, to generalized others, to a particular man, while also remaining painfully aware of his own feelings. In Line 9, he asks questions about whether the man he loves is now in a similar state emotionally; does he, like Whitman, feel miserable during the day and suffer through sleepless nights?

The speculation continues in similar fashion in Lines 10 and 11. In asking such questions, Whitman expresses his own distress, but he turns it around, asking whether the other man feels the same. In that sense, Whitman establishes a double focus; he continues to describe his own state of mind while speculating about his former friend. In Line 12, he imagines (although still in the form of a question) the other man both suffering and intuiting Whitman’s distress and seeing in Whitman’s pain a reflection of his own. It is a fanciful thought, invoked in a desperate measure to alleviate emotional pain, but its purpose is clear: Whitman wants to recreate, even if only within his own mind, the perfect consonance of himself and his friend: In understanding the feelings of the other, each sees himself.