America justifies itself, give it time

Walt Whitman (1819–1892), was called the "greatest of all American poets" by many foreign observers a mere four years after his death. His works have been translated into more than 25 languages, and his freestyle, liberated use verse continues to inspire poets and readers alike. Leaves of Grass, his most famous work, which he continued to edit and revise until his death, first appeared in 1855. Below is a small excerpt from the remarkable original preface. Enjoy.

"The largeness of nature or the nation were monstrous without a corresponding largeness and generosity of the spirit of the citizen. Not nature nor swarming states nor streets and steamships nor prosperous business nor farms nor capital nor learning may suffice for the ideal of man, nor suffice the poet...

The gaggery and gilt of a million years will not prevail. Who troubles himself about his ornaments or fluency is lost. This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body…"