These miscellaneous clippings and notes by Whitman show his obsession with phrenology, physiognomy, and a range of other pseudosciences. Many of the clippings and notes are glued or attached to each other, so that different pieces overlap like a scrapbook.
This fragment contains the lines that would eventually become the poem “This Compost.” Look for the phrase “winds are not really infectious” around the middle of the fragment and compare them to the adjacent published version of the poem. The poem explores the intersections of the natural world and the human body, asking “Where have you disposed of their carcasses?”
