"One of the finest nurses I met was a red-faced illiterate old Irish woman"

Female Nurses for Soldiers

Originally I thought that this piece would be from the inside perspective of the soldiers lusting after there nurses... I should have known better with Whitman.

In this piece Whitman talks about young nurses who volunteer to help with the wounded soldiers. He comments on how they are not the best for that job and goes on to talk about how an elderly (probably less attractive) nurse is much better at tending to injured men.

What caught me most was Whitman's line: "the magnetic touch of hands." This caught me as such a magnificent line as I could clearly envision such an image. The middle-aged or experienced woman with steady hands, tending to wounds and constantly attached to the body of the injured soldier knowing exactly how to help them.

I also liked how Whitman likened old nurses to mothers stating that mothers are also good and tending to wounds and making people feel better.