A noiseless patient spider,
I mark'd where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark'd how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.
Whitman introduces the image of a spider isolated on a small jutting piece of ground. The spider begins to cast out its web in order to explore its surroundings and build its home. The spider must do this repeatedly and tirelessly until anchor points are found. 

A Noiseless Patient Spider