People take life for granted and don’t realize its value until they lose it.

Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,

Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,

Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)

Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d, 

Of the poor results of all, all the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me, 

Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined, 

The question, O me! So sad, recurring--What good amid these, O me, O life?

 Answer

That you are here--that life exists and identity

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse. 

In “Oh Me! O Life!” Walt Whitman questions himself and the meaning of his own existence, as well as the productivity and meaning of life in general. He mentions the bustling cities filled with “foolish” people and the “endless trains of the faithless” in order to convey the continuous habitual lifestyle as well as to understate the meaning of being alive. However, Whitman also claims that he himself is as foolish as the others. Whitman questions the purpose of being alive and why everyone has spent so many “useless years.” He demonstrates how people continue to “crave the light,” meaning that people want more than they ever have. In addition he implies that everyone, just like him, are searching for meaning in their lives, which is true. In the end, Whitman answers his questioning of the meaning of life by claiming that life is good enough by the fact that it exists and that people can contribute to this ongoing paradox.

All the cars noisily steaming and agnerly beeping 

All the bright lamps at night glaring into my soul

All the headaches from staring at the screen

All the weary thoughts from deprivation and fatigue

All the sleepless nights that could be spent sleeping

All the tears and the hope decompensating

All the fights and the screams

All the pain, the hardships, the worries

All for what

I just want to sleep

No more noise, please

I want a break from this exhausting reality

My life is currently a mess and so are my dreams

But what is a life without no noise, without no dreams, without no fighting for anything

Life is not easy, we saw that from the start

It will never be easy, but that’s why it reaches our heart

We were sent on a mission, to live our lives

To dream on and to conquer our vibes

That is what makes us human:

We gladly suffer to strive