Bathed In War's Perfume Comments

The Call to War seems to be an aphrodisiac to some men... probably young men who want to prove their bravery on a battlefield that they are sure they will march away from at the end of the day because youth think life immortal- Whitman you speak truth

The poem is talking about how a flag is beckoning men to ships before a war. It also seems that the flag is compared to a woman, but i don't quite understand that. Maybe it is that men are attracted to women, and the flag is attracting men to war. Also the poem seems to be joyous over the fact of preparing for war, which i don't understand either, sorry to all who read this, i wish i could analyze this better.

hes comparing a us flag during war to a womans characteristics.

In this poem Whitman seems to be comparing women to a flag that has been through many wars and battles. Some women wear lots of perfume and he may be comparing that to a flag that has been through many battles and is probably torn and ragged but still flies high.

I'm sure there is some deeper meaning that I'm missing but from the outside it seems that he is comparing women and war. I'm sure some how that is supposed to be complimentary but I don't see it.