Dreams of Fallen Idols (An Unpublished Thank You and Ode To Walt Whitman)pt2

The answer has been my motivation, keeping me awake through the night, keeping me in love with my passion, the language of my forefathers, The answer has been given, inspiring those before and after his own words, Yet it rests clear as day in one of Uncle Walt's most prized pieces, The answer is my reason for choosing to be any and all that I am, The answer is the most beautiful phrase known to my amateur ears, The answer, I say, as he comforts me, as I begin to tear up from his guidance, "To contribute a verse" "To contribute a verse!" I answer proudly to my most revered teacher, And as if new sight has been given to me, wiping eyes, I make a promise to my fallen idols, Saying with the fury of fire in my follicles "To contribute a verse, and by a child's love, a man's honor, a student's respect, and a writer's creed, I intend to...I must... I shall...I promise..." With new confidence I am child and man, With new hope I am afraid and fearless A child of my ancestors, a man of my word, Afraid of failure, yet fearless on my journey, An impossible journey that ends at death, For death decides if my promise is protected, Waking to see the world as a blank page, I will blindly find my way to immortality, Not for glory, not for honor, Not for praise, nor for fame, Merely for a promise to yesterday, and a responsibility to tomorrow, With hope, I walk toward the unknown, unafraid of the outcome of my travels, With intentions of contributing a verse, and more importantly, finding myself , within my own words...