The Journey of a Lifetime with Father Free Verse

Serving as a continuous call to action, Walt Whitman beckons his readers to drop their materialism and obligations for a rugged adventure in "Song of the Open Road". First published in 1855, this poem was apart of Whitman's most noteworthy poetry collection, "Leaves of Grass". Although Whitman spent his entire life adding to and editing "Leaves of Grass", the majority of the published poems explore themes of sexuality, traveling, transcendentalism, and companionship. As I've always idolized the nomadic lifestyle, Whitman's "Song of the Open Road" speaks deeply to me and entices me to embark on a similar adventure.

While at first glance "Song of the Open Road" may not appear as a song or a poem, it adheres to Whitman's characteristic free verse and contains more structure than the majority of his other poems. For example, he begins a large sum of his stanzas with "Allons!", which means "Let's go!" in French. This not only serves a structural purpose, but by repeatedly asking his reader to saddle up and travel with him, Whitman is emphasizing the importance of making a radical change in one's lifestyle. 

Another notion Whitman presses upon the reader throughout “Song of the Open Road” is the attention that must be given to the Soul. He begins a couple of his stanzas with “Here is the efflux of the Soul.” Whitman never personally defines the Soul as being an entity or a thing upon which our livelihood depends. Rather, he leaves his readers to make their own inferences upon what a Soul actually is because he is busy putting forth more effort in connecting the notion of a Soul to the fulfilling happiness that is indicative of the road. This ethereal connection is demonstrated when Whitman says,

“The efflux of the Soul is happiness—here is happiness;

I think it pervades the open air, waiting at all times;
Now it flows unto us—we are rightly charged.“

Although Whitman blatantly asks his readers to literally join him on his spiritual and nomadic journey, one can infer that Whitman is really asking his readers to embark upon a journey of their own. He poetically offers encouragement by detailing the benefits of liberating oneself from the norm. For example, Whitman offers encouragement by addressing fears of the road by saying, “It is safe—I have tried it—my own feet have tried it well.” He offers encouragement by telling readers to abandon obligations by saying, “Let the paper remain on the desk unwritten, and the book on the shelf unopen’d! / Let the tools remain in the workshop! let the money remain unearn’d.” But most strategically of all, Whitman entices the reader to go on a journey by detailing his numerous spiritual revelations and by discussing the endearing qualities of traveling. 

After reading Walt Whitman’s “Song of the Open Road”, anyone with a shed of adventure in them will be immediately tempted to withdraw from the dregs of society and hit the road to have numerous spiritual revelations of their own. Similarly, Whitman’s illustrious descriptions of his travels and revelations evoked a wanderlust within me that no other poet has done before. It is for this reason I love Walt Whitman’s poem, “Song of the Open Road”.