A Noiseless Patient Spider

After doing this one for my teaching with Brit, the whole bridge aspect made a lot more sense. It seems that Whitman is saying that all throughout life, these sort of "filament strings" are attached everywhere. This comes with experiences, adventures, and just everyday life that is thrown at you. People go through life just taking it in like a noiseless patient spider. At the end of their life, they have a bridge made of all the filament. The soul is like a sleepless spider looking to experience life. It must throw out the filament throughout life before a bridge or anchor can be created. Whitman is comparing the human soul to the spider and does so through "filament" or the experiences of life that create the soul as a whole in the end.