(an essay)
It ends with one striking blow-off sentence, almost in extra-time. Paternity is equal to maternity. It defines the emotional equation. The real thing Whitman is looking for is eternity.
The rest is the boy evolving into a man. Insecurely, but firmly. For Whitman, it seems, there are no secrets in love and/or love-making. There is the woman, and there should be a man. He is keen to offer his services, and his love-making skills. Love, for him, is both physical and spiritual. It brings consequences. Matures into parenthood. We understand that he is always The Man.
However, regardless of this inefficacy of love, it brings out all desires that nature inspires in men. The touch, in all ways possible for the imagination. Imaginative, that’s what love is. Nature is a companion, but more of a witness to the union between a man and a woman.
The boy dreams. The man carries it out. The urge is immanent and strong. Words help along.
It’s about sex. Pure and inspiringly fresh. Erotic is the name of the game. Enjoyment of a woman’s body, as well the boy’s enjoyment of his own. On the other hand, it’s very much about fruitful love. It’s a drama. Henry VIII against his six wives. Touching her body in all ways invented by imagination is not really enough. It brings both satisfaction and the lack of it. The self needs a clear vector. Name it a full-stop.
The woman does not participate actively. She is silent, anonymous, kind of absent, or no-minded, no names mentioned. She is the object of desire. She stands for desire. She is the eternal womb. Needs to bear the fruit of him. Otherwise, it’s a useless exercise. It’s me that matters when it comes tо love. I dictate the terms of surrender.
Then, the fear. That it won’t last. That life is too short for expectations. All that matters is the result, and I don’t open a bottle of champagne, or I do it quietly, on my own, as a vindication of my efforts. Words are directed to strengthen the end product. In the process, it’s a healthy sex-experience, but it ends short of the end-game. If nature combines with empirical love to no avail, it becomes useless.
He (Whitman), like King Henry, has no doubts as to his manliness. He is the confident lover. Or so he says. There are no secrets in making love for this love instructor. Besides, he has a plan. And some seeds to land.
However, it looks a little less. She didn’t deliver. Or at least did below expectations. And he has to live with that. After all, he was not Henry the 8th. Takes a kingdom to start a new church ahead.
Stefan Chernokolev
