Walt Whitman, author of Leaves of Grass, was credited with creating the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America had yet contributed. His life affirmed freedom, his poetry celebrated life, and his philosophy prepared for death. In his own words, he departed as air, shook his white locks at the runaway sun, effused his flesh in eddies and drifted it in lacy jags, bequeathed himself to the dirt to grow from the grass he loved, and invited those who wanted to see him again to look for him under their boot soles.
