In the second section the poet extends his welcome to "all earth's lands" of whatever kind — lands whereon grow the pine, oak, lemon, fig, wheat, or grape. The lands which produce cotton are as welcome as those which yield potatoes. The "lands of mines" are also welcome; it is they which yield the ore to produce the axe. This description of the diversity of lands stresses the relationship between the axe and the earth. The earth is desolate in part, but the axe is always creative. The poet also repeats the principle of unity in diversity in his description of various types of lands. Some lands are productive while others are desolate and barren, yet all are parts of the earth. All the lands share in the poet's all-inclusive vision.
The third section of the poem tells of the many uses of the broadaxe. The axe helps man to build a "sylvan hut" and to get "the space clear'd for a garden." And it also builds cities. It represents a beginning, "the outset anywhere," the spirit of those "who sought a New England and found it." It is of use to "the butcher in the slaughter-house, the hands aboard schooners," and the "lumbermen in their winter camp." The poet describes a house being built, ships being built, and "the blazing fire at night" being enjoyed — all because of the axe. The poet describes how the broadaxe is made. Then he talks about the past, when primitive workers used the axe for building and when soldiers used it in combat. The broadaxe was used in the sack and seige of cities in ancient times. It symbolized "the hell of war, the cruelties of creeds," and the lust for power among men.
The "Song of the Broad-Axe" reveals Whitman's concept of mystic evolution. In this mystical process, good is mixed with evil, but good will triumph ultimately. The broadaxe is associated with the elements of darkness, but ultimately the spirit of the pioneers which it represents will assert itself.
