Leaves of Grass (1882)/Drum-Taps/Year that Trembled and Reel'd Beneath Me
YEAR THAT TREMBLED AND REEL'D BENEATH ME.
Year that trembled and reel'd beneath me!
Your summer wind was warm enough, yet the air I breathed froze me,
A thick gloom fell through the sunshine and darken'd me,
Must I change my triumphant songs? said I to myself,
Must I indeed learn to chant the cold dirges of the baffled?
And sullen hymns of defeat?