At the memorial - he stopped at the end of an inscription etched into the floor. Failing to fetch me at first, keep encouraged, Missing me one place, search another., I stop somewhere here, waiting for you, Mass read. Those are the final lines from Walt Whitman's poem Song of Myself, which is included in his seminal poetry collection Leaves of Grass. For Mass, Whitman, the poet, is fundamentally entwined with memories of his partner.
Society does not acknowledge these people in any way, shape or form, he said. They have no idea even who they are. And here's this poetic voice of humanity who keeps saying again and again I am your voice. I am your spirit. I am the grass on which you stand.
That closeness informs Kantrowitz' novel, Song of Myself - and the journey of its protagonist, Daniel Dell Blake, who embodies the desire to stand out in a conformist world.
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