I’ve been tracking this farmer’s progess all week in a Greenwich, N.Y., cornfield. Very Whitman-esque.

   September 18, 2008 – Walt Whitman had a serious sense of purpose about his life, and passionate ideas about how to live. I think people ought to have a little more wiggle room than he gave them, but he is nothing but inspirational, and he lived his own notions of what was right, as much as was possible. He had conviction, and resolve. He lived his life.
  “This is what you shall do,” he proclaimed. “Love the earth and sun and the animals, despite riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people – and your very flesh shall be a great poem.”
  It’s quite a call to arms. And difficult to live up to. I always read Whitman and wish I could tell him to cut himself a bit of slack, but then, he would not have been Whitman. Great people do not cut themselves a lot of slack. Slack is a contemporary idea, born out of the therapeutic ideology.
  Of his ideas, I am most touched by this last line. Make your very flesh a great poem. We all have to find our own way to do this, but it’s another way of saying find purpose, learn how to love, achieve small and large victories, be fulfilled.
  Most of us can’t really affect “the people” as much as we might like, but we can make our flesh a great poem by freeing our inner spirits, telling our stories, refusing to surrender to fear, encouraging ourselves and others, and making sure that we are not wasting our time. Sounds like a great poem to me.