Debris
by Walt Whitman
· 1860-1861
Published 01/07/1860
BEHAVIOR—fresh, native, copious, each one for him-selfhimself or herself,
Nature and the Soul expressed—America and free-domfreedom expressed—In it the finest art,
In it pride, cleanliness, sympathy, to have their chance,
In it physique, intellect, faith—in it just as much as to manage an army or a city, or to write a book
—perhaps more,
The youth, the laboring person, the poor person, rivalling all the rest—perhaps outdoing the rest,
The effects of the universe no greater than its;
For there is nothing in the whole universe that can be more effective than a man's or woman's daily behavior can be,
In any position, in any one of These States.