# On My Way a Moment I Pause explained — Leaves of Grass

> Chapter companion for Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.

## What happens

The narrator pauses on his journey to celebrate America's present and future, while honoring the legacy of Native American peoples whose names and natural essence permeate the land.

## Themes in this chapter

### America and Its People

The chapter celebrates America's future and acknowledges the indigenous peoples who shaped the land.

### Death and Immortality

The red aborigines 'melt' and 'depart,' yet their names and natural breaths endure in the water and land.

## Character check-ins

### Narrator

Pauses to address America and the future, harbinging glad and sublime times.

### America

Recipient of the narrator's address, representing the nation's present and future.

## Key lines

> On my way a moment I pause, Here for you! and here for America!

I stop briefly on my journey to dedicate this moment to you and to America.

_The narrator directly addresses the reader and the nation._

> Leaving such to the States they melt, they depart, charging the water and the land with names.

The Native peoples leave these names to the states as they fade away, imbuing the water and land with their legacy.

_Describes the enduring imprint of indigenous cultures on the American landscape._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/16
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leaves_of_grass_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters