Shut Not Your Doors / Don't Be Snobs

SHUT NOT YOUR DOORS

Shut not your doors to me proud libraries,

For that which was lacking on all your well-fill'd shelves, yet

needed most, I bring,

Forth from the war emerging, a book I have made,

The words of my book nothing, the drift of it every thing,

A book separate, not link'd with the rest nor felt by the intellect,

But you ye untold latencies will thrill to every page.

(Walt Whitman)

Interpretation for the Poetry-Challenged

(we cannot be the only ones out there!)

DON’T BE SNOBS

Hey libraries, ain’t you a snobbish bunch

Your shelves ain’t as impressive as you think, you’re missing some critical books, and you’re in luck, I got what you need

Stories from the war, that I wrote with my own lil’ pen

My words have no meaning, you got to feel the groove

Mine is special, not like the rest of those boorish books written for smart people

If you are not smart, but have potential, let my vibe feel you up