Shut Not Your Doors to Me Proud Libraries
Walt Whitman
Shut not your doors to me, proud libraries,
For that which was lacking among you all, yet needed most, I bring;
A book I have made for your dear sake, O soldiers,
And for you, O soul of man, and you, love of comrades;
The words of my book nothing, the life of it everything;
A book separate, not link’d with the rest, nor felt by the intellect;
But you will feel every word, O Libertad! arm’d Libertad!
It shall pass by the intellect to swim the sea, the air,
With joy with you, O soul of man.
About this poem
“Shut Not Your Doors to Me Proud Libraries” appeared in “Drum-Taps,” a collection of poems self-published by Whitman in 1865. “Drum-Taps” consists of Civil War-themed poems Whitman published after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
About Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, and is widely considered one of America’s most important poets. He worked as a printer, teacher and journalist in the New York City area. He is best known for his work “Leaves of Grass,” which he composed and updated throughout his entire adult life. He died on March 26, 1892.
The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day@poets.org.
This poem is in the public domain. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
