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As I sit writing here, sick and grown old,
Not my least burden is that dulness of the years, querilities,
Ungracious glooms, aches, lethargy, constipation, whimpering
ennui,
May filter in my daily songs.
“As I sit Writing Here” is a poem that chronicles walt’s fear that his sickness, aging and discontented mood regarding his health will aeffect his poetry. He longss to still be the strong, bright, passionate writer we met when reading Song of Myself.
Definitions:
querilities: not in the dictionary, so it must be a Whitman word; based on the context I think he mean queries or questions that he worries about. such as: will my health seep into my writing?
ennui: a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom: The endless lecture produced an unbearable ennui.
lethargy:the quality or state of being drowsy and dull, listless and unenergetic, or indifferent and lazy; apathetic or sluggish inactivity.
Definitions from Dictionary.com
I actually knew what ennui meant, but you’ll never guess where I heard it first.
http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1543