[17] These are really the thoughts of all men in all ages and lands, they are not original with me (from Song of Myself)

by Walt Whitman


Original Language English

These are really the thoughts of all men in all ages and lands, they are not original with me,
If they are not yours as much as mine they are nothing, or next to nothing,
If they are not the riddle and the untying of the riddle they are nothing,
If they are not just as close as they are distant they are nothing.
This is the grass that grows wherever the land is and the water is,
This is the common air that bathes the globe.

-- from Song of Myself, by Walt Whitman

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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

Whitman is right: The deepest insights are never new or unique. By their nature, they are eternal and present within each one of us. Look, then, for what has been quietly present all along...



Recommended Books: Walt Whitman

The Longing in Between: Sacred Poetry from Around the World (A Poetry Chaikhana Anthology) The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse Song of Myself Leaves of Grass Dead Poets Society (DVD)



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