the open road

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.

henceforth I ask not good fortune, I myself am good fortune.

Henceforth I whisper no more, postpone no more, need nothing.

Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,

Strong and content I travel the open road.

~Walt Whitman, from “Song of the Open Road”