He is a cosmos
Why read Walt Whitman?
Because he writes majestic poems,
Luminous for who has a heart wounded by life,
Because he loves America and its men,*
That he writes that there is nothing more perfect than the earth,*
Because he walked in the ruts, the deep forests,
Because he saw the cities being built before his eyes,
Why read Walt Whitman?
"Because he is a cosmos, from Manhattan, the son" (I quote him),*
Because he is anything but narcissistic,
Because he understood that sweetness was a medicine
Like poetry, like travel or science,
Why read Walt Whitman, the grass leaves,
Because he is a friend, a brother, an interpreter,
He writes like one makes cinema, great cinema;
Because he is wary of faith, Because he loves the new and the old,*
Because he loves you reader, he could be like your "mother"
Because he loves you reader, like me,
Like the fire that feeds on what it burns, the wood,
That he needs you as a reader and that he knows it,
Why read Walt Whitman?
Because he understood that poetry is a bourbon or a cognac
A cocktail or a caipirinha, a sweet Chianti or a tequila
We drink it morning, noon, and evening, to no longer suffer.
* i quote the genius
Copyright © Yann Rolland | Year Posted 2025
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