Dramatic, lyrical, and beautiful, O Captain, My Captain tells the story of one of Americaâs greatest poets and how he was inspired by one of Americaâs 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 Lincolnâs carriage on the road. The president was never far from the poetâs mind, and Lincolnâs âgrace under pressureâ was something Whitman returned to again and again in his poetry. Whitman witnessed Lincolnâs second inauguration and mourned along with America as Lincolnâs funeral train wound its way across the landscape to his final resting place. This recording includes the poem âO Captain! My Captain!â and an excerpt from âWhen Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomâd,â as well as brief bios of Lincoln and Whitman, a timeline of Civil War events, endnotes, and a bibliography.