Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman was born in West Hills, on Long Island, New York, on May 31, 1819. Considered by many to be the greatest of all American poets, Walt Whitman celebrated the freedom and dignity of the individual and sang

I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars

by Walt Whitman (1819–92)

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16

I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars,

And the pismire is equally perfect, and a grain of sand, and the egg of a wren,

And the tree-toad is the chef-d'oeuvre for the highest,

And the running blackberry would adorn the parlors of heaven,

And the narrowest hinge in my hand puts to scorn all machinery,

And the cow crunching with depress'd head surpasses any statue,

And a mouse is miracle enough to stagger sextillions of infidels.

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