In the third cycle of the poem, sections 10-13, the poet wonders how he shall sing “for the large sweet soul that has gone.” How shall he compose his tribute for the “dead one there I loved”? With his poem he wishes to “perfume the grave of him I love.” The pictures on the dead president’s tomb, he says, should be of spring and sun and Leaves, a river, hills, and the sky, the city dense with dwellings, and people at work—in short, “all the scenes of life.” The “body and soul” of America will be in them, the beauties of Manhattan spires as well as the shores of the Ohio and the Missouri rivers—all “the varied and ample land.” The “gray-brown bird” is singing “from the swamps” its “loud human song” of woe. The song has a liberating effect on the poet’s soul, although the star still holds him, as does the mastering odor” of the lilac.
In this cycle the description of natural objects and phenomena indicates the breadth of Lincoln’s vision, and the “purple” dawn, “delicious” eve, and “welcome” night suggest the continuous, endless cycle of the day, which, in turn, symbolizes Lincoln’s immortality.
Sections 14-16 comprise a restatement of the earlier themes and symbols of the poem in a perspective of immortality. The poet remembers that one day while he sat in the peaceful but “unconscious scenery of my land,” a cloud with a “long black trail” appeared and enveloped everything. Suddenly he “knew death.” He walked between “the knowledge of death” and “the thought of death.” He fled to the bird, who sang “the carol of death.” The song of the thrush follows this passage. It praises death, which it describes as “lovely,” “soothing,” and “delicate.” The “fathomless universe” is adored “for life and joy” and “sweet love.” Death is described as a “dark mother always gliding near with soft feet.” To her, the bird sings a song of “fullest welcome.” Death is a “strong deliveress” to whom “the body gratefully” nestles.
The thrush’s song is the spiritual ally of the poet. As the bird sings, the poet sees a vision: “And I saw askant the armies.” He sees “battle-corpses” and the “debris of all the slain soldiers.” These dead soldiers are happy in their resting places, but their parents and relatives continue to suffer because they have lost them. The suffering is not of the dead, but of the living.
The coffin has now reached the end of its journey. It passes the visions,” the “song of the hermit bird,” and the “tallying song” of the poet’s soul. “Death’s outlet song” is heard, “sinking and fainting,” and yet bursting with joy. The joyful psalm fills the earth and heaven. As the coffin passes him, the poet salutes it, reminding himself that the lilac blooming in the dooryard will return each spring. The coffin has reached its resting place in “the fragrant pines and the cedars dusk and dim.” The star, the bird, and the lilac join with the poet as he bids goodbye to Lincoln, his “comrade, the dead I loved so well.”
The poet’s realization of immortality through the emotional conflict of personal loss is the principal theme of this great poem, which is a symbolistic dramatization of the poet’s grief and his ultimate reconciliation with the truths of life and death.
