Lyric Poem · War & Remembrance

Adieu to a Soldier

by Walt Whitman

ADIEU, O soldier!

You of the rude campaigning, (which we shared,)

The rapid march, the life of the camp,

The hot contention of opposing fronts—the long manoeuver,

Red battles with their slaughter,—the stimulus—the strong, terrific game,

Spell of all brave and manly hearts—the trains of Time through you, and like of you,

all

fill’d,

With war, and war’s expression.

Adieu, dear comrade!

Your mission is fulfill’d—but I, more warlike,

Myself, and this contentious soul of mine,

Still on our own campaigning bound,

Through untried roads, with ambushes, opponents lined,

Through many a sharp defeat and many a crisis—often baffled,

Here marching, ever marching on, a war fight out—aye here,

To fiercer, weightier battles give expression.

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“Adieu to a Soldier” by Walt Whitman — quilloak.com/poems/adieu-to-a-soldier

Quick facts

Poem: Adieu to a Soldier
Poet: Walt Whitman
Length: 17 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: War & Remembrance, Love, Peace

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 17 lines · 2 stanzas of 8–9 lines

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Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record: Walt Whitman1819–1892
Source record: PoetryDBAdieu to a Soldier by walt-whitman, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 3ef451fcb3b38d61…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.