Journal 2: Walt Whitman-Living for Today

Allister Lo
English 48B
January 11, 2008
Journal #2 Walt Whitman

Quote: "I have heard what the talkers were talking, the talk of the beginning and/the end,/But I do not talk of the beginning or the end./There was never any more inception than there is now/Nor any more youth or age than there is now,/And will never be any more perfection than there is now" (31)

Summary: In this quote, Whitman writes of the people who talk about the past and those who talk about the future. However, Whitman objects to this kind of talk, arguing there is no better time than the present, the now.

Response: In class discussions, there was talk that Walt Whitman was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, American poet of all time. So when I read this quote, it immediately struck me, since the quote is a motto that so many people, especially Americans seem to live by. So I thought this quote was interesting since it was written way back when the United States was still a young and developing country.

Ever since I was little, I have been urged to seize the moment and to live for the present because we cannot change the past and we cannot predict the future. The present is the only thing we can control. The quote seems like Whitman is actually talking to you, like many of his other lines throughout Song of Myself. The lines sound almost like commands, where the you is understood.

To me, Whitman speaks these lines as if you came to him and told him about a dream you wanted to pursue. I can imagine Whitman simply responding and saying to simply go for it, because there is no better time than now. It is as if he is saying there is no better beginning than starting right now, nor any better age to start. The time is perfect, so one should simply chase his dream with no regards to the past or future.

It is pretty amazing to see that a poem written in the 1800s can still offer hope and inspiration to those willing to read it even today. Whitman offers readers his life motto and almost urges us to live for the moment.