You know to read the most recent travel guidebooks and the best travel literature before embarking into foreign territories, but what about the poetry of travel? Reading the verses of those who have gone before us on their own roads of discovery can allow us to explore our experiences in new destinations to greater depths, or simply open our imaginations to places never seen. And if the poet is truly phenomenal, they might even inspire their reader to make a journey all their own.
Such is the nature of Walt Whitman's "Song of the Open Road." Just reading a few stanzas should start you reaching for your road atlas.
AFOOT and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.
Before you make those summer travel plans, come in to check out our newly enhanced travel section, stocked with guide books, maps, atlases, and travel literature poetic enough to inspire your next expedition.
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