Dramatic, lyrical, and beautiful, O Captain, My Captain tells the story of one of Americaās greatest poets and how he was inspired by one of Americaās greatest presidents. Whitman and Lincoln shared the national stage in Washington, DC, during the Civil War. Although the two men never met, Whitman often saw Lincolnās carriage on the road. The president was never far from the poetās mind, and Lincolnās āgrace under pressureā was something Whitman returned to again and again in his poetry. Whitman witnessed Lincolnās second inauguration and mourned along with America as Lincolnās funeral train wound its way across the landscape to his final resting place. This recording includes the poem āO Captain! My Captain!ā and an excerpt from āWhen Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomād,ā as well as brief bios of Lincoln and Whitman, a timeline of Civil War events, endnotes, and a bibliography.