Leaves of Grass: The Original 1855 Edition (Illustrated)

by Walt Whitman

The attitude of great poets is to cheer up slaves and horrify despots.

I lead no man to a dinner-table or library or exchange, But each man and each woman of you I lead upon a knoll, My left hand hooks you round the waist, My right hand points to landscapes of continents, and a plain public road. Not I, not any one else can travel that road for you, You must travel it for yourself.

Great is life . . . and real and mystical . . . wherever and whoever, Great is death . . . Sure as life holds all parts together, death holds all parts together; Sure as the stars return again after they merge in the light, death is great as life.