Leaves of Grass part 3

Tenderly will I use you curling grass,
It may be you transpire from the breasts of young men,
It may be if I had known them I would have loved them;
It may be you are from old people and from women,and
from offspring taken soon out of their mothers laps,
And here you are the mothers' laps

This passage is about how connected humans nature and the world are. It is about the circle of life. The grass is a symbol of new life. The new life has "transpired from the breasts of young men." Connecting the grass to the men who have died young. The following line about possibly loving the young men connects the young men to the women who perished who would also be mothers. The mothers have there offspring taken soon of their laps. The connections are reinforced by the repetition of the phrase "It may be," this common phrase ties the readers minds between the young men the love of the women and the motherhood that created the children and finally the grass. This passage has a kind nostalgic tone which is created by the soft diction such as "Tenderly" and the phrase "It may be," because the phrase gives the feeling of looking into the past and considering what could have been.