"Breathe the air but leave plenty after me, And am not stuck up, and am in my place […] The palpable is in its place and the impalpable is in its place"
In these lines Whitman is discussing the roles of everything in the universe. Everything, no matter what it is, whether it is tangible or intangible, has a role in life. One of the many roles of humans is to breathe air, it's something we have to do to survive and Whitman is saying that even after we die, oxygen will still exist and now "belong" to other humans to breathe. Earlier in the poem Whitman discusses the diversity of humans, but also how it makes us similar in that way. All of the things that compose us put us into our place in the world. Even if we don't know what it is, everyone and everything is on the Earth for a reason. Humans, dogs, trees, rocks, all have a place and Whitman believes they are always in their place. This is a comforting idea because even if you feel lost, Whitman believes you are always living the life you are supposed to. We live together with all of these things, palpable and impalpable, and they help us and in turn we help them. This allows for a lot of interconnectivity in the universe and reliance on things other than just yourself.
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