Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


AN ARMY CORPS ON THE MARCH by WALT WHITMAN

Poet Analysis

First Line: WITH ITS CLOUD OF SKIRMISHERS IN ADVANCE
Last Line: AS THE ARMY CORPS ADVANCES.
Subject(s): AMERICAN CIVIL WAR; UNITED STATES - HISTORY;

With its cloud of skirmishers in advance,
With now the sound of a single shot snapping like a whip,
and now an irregular volley,
The swarming ranks press on and on, the dense brigades press on,
Glittering dimly, toiling under the sun -- the dust-cover'd men,
In columns rise and fall to the undulations of the ground,
With artillery interspers'd -- the wheels rumble, the horses sweat,
As the army corps advances.



Home: PoetryExplorer.net