Sections 37-40 Summary

"Songs of Parting" is a collection of poems which addresses various ends, such as an end-of-life, end of time, sunsets, and legacies. "As the Time Draws Nigh" talks about Whitman's own death, and how there is no way to know what lies ahead. There is some sense of sorrow and dread that is cast over the poet although he does not know what it means or the source from which it came. The time also has drawn nearer to depart to travel the United States, although no destination has been determined.

Whitman pays homage to the ashes of Civil War soldiers, both Yankee and Confederate, as their spirits rise from countless graves throughout Virginia and Tennessee. There is no longer the need for the sound of trumpets, spirited horses, or glistening sabers. No longer will drummers perform or will reveille be...