The ocean as a fixture of nature is so important to this poem because it reflects a kind of helplessness and vulnerability that we don’t necessarily expect from Whitman’s work. Whereas most references to nature in Whitman’s poetry allow for empowerment or at least harmonious coexistence between the human and nature, “As I Ebb’d with the Ocean of Life,” illustrates a moment of restlessness experienced by the speaker who is at odds with the vast shoreline and ocean that lies before him. It is a moment during which the physical and the mental perceptions do not combine to create a beautiful revelation, but rather they collide and evoke unrest for the speaker. At the turning point of the poem the speaker sighs “I perceive I have not really understood any thing, not a single object, and that no man ever can, Nature here in the sight of the sea taking advantage of me to dart upon me and sting me, Because I have dared to open my mouth to sing at all” (Whitman 395). This is statement starkly contrasts alternative, and more common Whitman sentiments, that nature affirms and empowers the human. The action nature is given here is entirely negative and threatening, the ocean is literally “stinging” the speaker with its vast and incomprehensible power and consistency.
Nice meditation on one of the key moments of vulnerability in Whitman’s work as the natural “merge” we sense so often with nature becomes potentially alienating, inhuman in its lack of care for the plight of a single solitary self. I love how he solves the problem here–with that embrace. When in doubt, bring it in for a hug–whitman’s motto.