Poem by Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass. 5. Calamus. 21. The Prairie-Grass Dividing

The prairie-grass dividing, its special odor breathing,
I demand of it the spiritual corresponding,
Demand the most copious and close companionship of men,
Demand the blades to rise of words, acts, beings,
Those of the open atmosphere, coarse, sunlit, fresh, nutritious,
Those that go their own gait, erect, stepping with freedom and
      command, leading not following,
Those with a never-quell'd audacity, those with sweet and lusty
      flesh clear of taint,
Those that look carelessly in the faces of Presidents and governors,
      as to say Who are you?
Those of earth-born passion, simple, never constrain'd, never obedient,
Those of inland America.

1. Leaves of Grass. 34. Sands at Seventy. 28. Old Salt Kossabone
2. Leaves of Grass. 35. Good-Bye My Fancy. 14. Interpolation Sounds
3. Leaves of Grass. 24. Autumn Rivulets. 23. To a Pupil
4. Leaves of Grass. 35. Good-Bye My Fancy. 18. Sounds of the Winter
5. Leaves of Grass. 20. By the Roadside. 28. Offerings

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