Song of the Open Road, IV by Walt Whitman

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend December 10, 2016   Song of the Open Road, IV   Walt Whitman

The earth expanding right hand and left hand, The picture alive, every part in its best light, The music falling in where it is wanted, and stopping where it is not            wanted, The cheerful voice of the public road, the gay fresh sentiment of the            road.   O highway I travel, do you say to me Do not leave me? Do you say Venture not—if you leave me you are lost? Do you say I am already prepared, I am well-beaten and undenied,            adhere to me?   O public road, I say back I am not afraid to leave you, yet I love you, You express me better than I can express myself, You shall be more to me than my poem.   I think heroic deeds were all conceiv'd in the open air, and all free                poems also, I think I could stop here myself and do miracles, I think whatever I shall meet on the road I shall like, and whoever                beholds me shall like me, I think whoever I see must be happy.            This poem is in the public domain. About This Poem   "Song of the Open Road, IV" was published in Leaves of Grass (David McKay, 1891-92).   Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, in West Hills, Long Island, New York. He worked as a printer, teacher, and journalist in New York City throughout his life. Whitman self-published Leaves of Grass in 1855, which he continued to revise throughout his life. He died on March 26, 1892. Poetry by Whitman   Leaves of Grass (Penguin Classics, 1981)  "I'm Nobody! Who are you? (260)" by Emily Dickinson "Road at Ache" by Kazim Ali "LXV [Once, I knew a fine song]" by Stephen Crane Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038