Both Uses of
oscillate
in
Leaves of Grass
- I too many and many a time cross'd the river of old,
Watched the Twelfth-month sea-gulls, saw them high in the air
floating with motionless wings, oscillating their bodies,
Saw how the glistening yellow lit up parts of their bodies and left
the rest in strong shadow,
Saw the slow-wheeling circles and the gradual edging toward the south,
Saw the reflection of the summer sky in the water,
Had my eyes dazzled by the shimmering track of beams,
Look'd at the fine centrifugal spokes of light round the shape of my
head in the sunlit water,
Look'd on the haze on the hills southward and south-westward,
Look'd on the vapor as it flew in fleeces tinged with violet,
Look'd towar†Chpt 8
- The sea-gulls oscillating their bodies, the hay-boat in the
twilight, and the belated lighter?†Chpt 8 *
Definition:
move or swing from side to side regularly
or:
waver between conflicting positions or courses of action
or:
waver between conflicting positions or courses of action