a function of Whitman building a particular national persona for himself. The meaning of Calamus as a symbol This cluster of poems contains a number of images and motifs that are repeated throughout, notably the Calamus root itself. Acorus calamus or Sweet Flag is a marsh-growing plant similar to a cat-tail. Whitman continues through this one of the central images of Leaves of Grass – Calamus is treated as a specific example of the grass that he writes of elsewhere. Some scholars have pointed out, as reasons for Whitman's choice, the phallic shape of what Whitman calls the "pink-tinged roots" of Calamus, its mythological association with male same-sex love, and the allegedly mind-altering effects of the root. The root was chiefly chewed at the time as a breath-freshener and to relieve stomach complaints. References External links Calamus On WikiSource Manuscript for "Live Oak With Moss" at the Walt Whitman Archive Calamus Poetry by Walt Whitman 1860 poems LGBT poetry LGBT literature in the United States Male homosexuality