WALT WHITMAN QUOTE

I was just reading Leaves of Grass and came across this:

O ripen'd joy of womanhood! O happiness at last!
I am more than eighty years of age, I am the most venerable mother,
How clear is my mind--how all people draw near to me!
What attractions are these beyond any before?
what bloom more than the bloom of youth?
What beauty is this that descends upon me and rises out of me?

...and now I'm thinking about ripening!