Wednesday Poetry Break:Song of the Open Road

I'll be hitting the open road tomorrow to spend some time with family in Vermont. Although I'll have my laptop with me, I'm not sure what the Internet access will be like, so I may not post for a few days.

Do not fear, dear reader, Pooky Shoehorn will return! In the meantime, I hope you'll enjoy this snippet from one of my favorite poets.

Song of the Open Road

Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.
The earth, that is sufficient,
I do not want the constellations any nearer,
I know they are very well where they are,
I know they suffice for those who belong to them.
(Still here I carry my old delicious burdens,
I carry them, men and women, I carry them with me wherever I go,
I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them,
I am fill’d with them, and I will fill them in return.)

— Walt Whitman