From the reading, I think the untranslatable self-refers to how Walt Whitman sees himself. Whitman poem suggests that like him, everyone else exists and that everyone continues to go on with the cycle of their lives. But no one questions their reason for existing, their reason for being, their purpose or even significance. As Whitman observed and analyze his surrounding he questioned everyone’s appearance or thought or reason for being. He perceived that man existence, along with nature and the universe is an unpredictable glitch that was created to let the world be a place where things will happen that will not be viable to changes. Whitman is determined not to follow society and not contaminate his mind with the taunts of gossips.

In the poem, he focused on nature and places, people and diversity and how the identity of self-consciousness and self-awareness is important. Whitman wanted to convey the connection between nature and all mankind. I think he used the term “grass” a lot to connect to his everyday life because like the abundance of grass so are people.

D.Ramratan