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 the 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 books, and dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in it 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.
- Walt Whitman, preface to Leaves of Grass, 1855
:rune guneriussen
7 comments:
this is ridiculously beautiful.
Wonderful image. And the words? Funny how the truth never wavers, no matter how much time has passed.
It's interesting - I was reading Longfellow on Luisa's blog yesterday, I think it was, and I was thinking that I enjoy Longfellow quite a bit. But you reminded me where my heart truly lies. Whitman was such a force of nature, like his sentiments here. The image is amazing, too.
As wordy as Whitman was, he managed to pack in a lot of punch in a few lines here. Just wonderful.
And the image! What is it about blue, with snow, at night! Love it.
Perfectly magical and mysterious and gorgeous. That image and quote were made for each other.
That photo is unbelievable. Its stunning! I very inspired by it! THANK YOU for sharing!
I don't like the picture, but really enjoyed the words.
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