Lyric Poem · Life

Full of Life, Now

by Walt Whitman

Reading room

1FULL of life, now, compact, visible,

2I, forty years old the Eighty-third Year of The States,

3To one a century hence, or any number of centuries hence,

4To you, yet unborn, these, seeking you.

5When you read these, I, that was visible, am become invisible;

6Now it is you, compact, visible, realizing my poems, seeking me;

7Fancying how happy you were, if I could be with you, and become your comrade;

8Be it as if I were with you. (Be not too certain but I am now with you.)

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“Full of Life, Now” by Walt Whitman — quilloak.com/poems/full-of-life-now

Quick facts

Poem: Full of Life, Now
Poet: Walt Whitman
Length: 8 lines
Form: Lyric Poem, Short Poems
Themes: Life, Short

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: 8 lines · 2 quatrains
End rhyme: No regular perfect end rhyme. The poem may still be using slant rhyme, assonance, or internal echo, which this check does not score.

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

Author record: Walt Whitman1819–1892
Source record: PoetryDBFull of Life, Now 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 07148355b049f1f7…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.