A Psalm of Life

by Walt Whitman · 1838 · Hope & Inspiration · Lyric
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

About Walt Whitman

American poet, essayist, and journalist. His work was controversial in its time for its overt sensuality and celebration of the human form.

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