"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 me,
go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families,
re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book,
dismiss whatever insults your own soul,
and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its 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
I first saw this quote spread across the walls of my 11th grade English class. My teacher, Ms. Bishop, fueled my love of reading and writing by sharing this quote and other insightful words from poets and authors throughout the year. I love how someone can say something so simply, yet with so much power. I wonder what it would be like, if we could talk like that? Without any likes or ums or fluff; just all the right words. Mark Twain explained it well when he said,
"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."
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