95 Walt Whitman Quotes on Love and Life

Walt Whitman was an American poet and journalist who’s considered one of America’s most influential and innovative poets.

This lovely collection of Walt Whitman quotes will inspire you to see beauty in the world and push past all of your struggles.

His major, Leaves of Grass, which was first published in 1855 with his own money, is a landmark in the history of American literature.

Fellow poet Ralph Waldo Emerson described it as “the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom to come from an American pen.”

Walt Whitman’s poetry and quotes on love and life have inspired many over the years, with over 13,000 social media posts using the hashtag #WaltWhitman on Instagram alone.

This statistic highlights the enduring impact of Whitman’s work and the power of his words to connect with readers across generations.

Born on May 31, 1819, in West Hills, New York, Whitman worked as an office boy, journalist, educator and government clerk besides publishing his poetry.

In addition, Whitman was a volunteer nurse during the civil war.

Whitman continued expanding and revising Leaves of Grass until his passing on March 26, 1892.

Though his work was considered controversial in its time, Whitman is still regarded as one of the greatest American poets.

Here are some beautiful quotes from the father of free verse that will inspire and motivate you.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration. 

Check out our inspirational quotes category page for more inspirational life quotes.

Walt Whitman quotes on love and life

A study by the University of California, Berkeley found that reading Walt Whitman’s poetry improved empathy and emotional intelligence, making it an ideal source of inspiration for those looking to connect more deeply with themselves and others.

This study highlights the transformative power of Whitman’s writing and encourages readers to share his quotes with a friend who needs their encouragement.

1. “I have learned that to be with those I like is enough.” – Walt Whitman

2. “Re-examine all that you have been told… dismiss that which insults your soul.”  – Walt Whitman

3. “Simplicity is the glory of expression.” – Walt Whitman

You will also enjoy our article on short inspirational poems.

4. “Happiness, not in another place but this place…not for another hour, but this hour.” ― Walt Whitman

5. “Peace is always beautiful.” – Walt Whitman

6. “Pointing to another world will never stop vice among us; shedding light over this world can alone help us.” – Walt Whitman

7. “I am satisfied… I see, dance, laugh, sing.” – Walt Whitman

8. ”The future is no more uncertain than the present.”  – Walt Whitman

9. “Every hour of every day is an unspeakably perfect miracle.”  – Walt Whitman

10. “All beauty comes from beautiful blood and a beautiful brain.”  – Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman quotes to inspire and motivate

According to Google Trends, searches for “Walt Whitman quotes” have increased steadily over the past five years, indicating a growing interest in his timeless wisdom on love and life.

This trend suggests that Whitman’s words continue to resonate with readers today and inspire new audiences to discover his work.

11. “I am as bad as the worst, but, thank God, I am as good as the best.” – Walt Whitman

12. “Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes.” – Walt Whitman

If you enjoyed this article, read our collection of Rumi quotes on life, love and strength that will inspire you.

13. “Whatever satisfies the soul is truth.” ― Walt Whitman

14. “To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle.” – Walt Whitman

15. “I exist as I am, that is enough.” – Walt Whitman

16. “In the faces of men and women, I see God.” – Walt Whitman

17. “Either define the moment or the moment will define you.” – Walt Whitman

18. “Give me the splendid, silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling.” – Walt Whitman

19. “Only themselves understand themselves and the like of themselves, As souls only understand souls.” – Walt Whitman

20. “Whoever is not in his coffin and the dark grave, let him know he has enough.” ― Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman quotes to inspire you to live your best life

21. “Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.” ― Walt Whitman

22. Be curious, not judgmental.” – Walt Whitman

23. “I swear to you, there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell.” – Walt Whitman

24. “Do anything, but let it produce joy.” – Walt Whitman

25. “If you done it, it ain’t bragging.” ― Walt Whitman

26. ”If anything is sacred the human body is sacred.” – Walt Whitman

27. “Nothing can happen more beautiful than death. ” ― Walt Whitman

28. “The strongest and sweetest songs yet remain to be sung.” ― Walt Whitman

29. “When one reaches out to help another he touches the face of God.” – Walt Whitman

30. “I refuse putting from me the best that I am.” ― Walt Whitman

Thought-provoking Walt Whitman quotes that’ll expand your mind

31. ”I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don’t believe I deserved my friends.” ― Walt Whitman

32. ”Have you heard that it was good to gain the day? I also say it is good to fall, battles are lost in the same spirit in which they are won.”― Walt Whitman

33. “I discover myself on the verge of a usual mistake.” – Walt Whitman

34. “A heroic person walks at his ease through and out of that custom or precedent or authority that suits him not.” ― Walt Whitman

35. “There is no God any more divine than Yourself.” – Walt Whitman

36. “After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on – have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear – what remains? Nature remains.” ― Walt Whitman

37. “The road to wisdom is paved with excess. The mark of a true writer is their ability to mystify the familiar and familiarize the strange.” – Walt Whitman

38. “To have great poets,  there must be great audiences.” ― Walt Whitman

39. “I think I will do nothing for a long time but listen,
And accrue what I hear into myself…and let sound contribute toward me.” ― Walt Whitman

40. “The truth is simple. If it was complicated, everyone would understand it.” – Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman quotes to inspire and teach

41. “Henceforth I ask not good fortune. I myself am good fortune.” – Walt Whitman

42. “Judging from the main portions of the history of the world, so far, justice is always in jeopardy.” ― Walt Whitman

43. “It makes such difference where you read” ― Walt Whitman

44. “We were together. I forget the rest.” ― Walt Whitman

45. “I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,
If you want me again look for me under your bootsoles.” ― Walt Whitman

46. “A blade of grass is the journeywork of the stars” ― Walt Whitman

47. “In the confusion we stay with each other, happy to be together, speaking without uttering a single word.” –
Walt Whitman

48. “The sum of all known value and respect, I add up in you, whoever you are.”  -Walt Whitman

49. “I hear and behold God in every object, yet understand God not in the least.” – Walt Whitman

50. “To the real artist in humanity, what are called bad manners are often the most picturesque and significant of all. ” ― Walt Whitman

Other inspirational Walt Whitman quotes and sayings

51. “From this hour, freedom! Going where I like, my own master…”― Walt Whitman

52. “To know the universe itself as a road, as many roads, as roads for traveling souls.”― Walt Whitman

53. “The words of my book are nothing, the drift of it everything.”― Walt Whitman

54. “When the materials are ready, the architects shall appear.”― Walt Whitman

55. “My voice goes after what my eyes cannot reach, with the twirl of my tongue I encompass words and volumes of words.”― Walt Whitman

56. “The past and the present wilt. I have filled them, emptied them,
And proceed to fill my next fold of the future.”― Walt Whitman

57. “To me, every cubic inch of space is a miracle.”― Walt Whitman

58. “Sure as Life holds all parts together, Death holds all parts together.”― Walt Whitman

59. “There will never be any more perfection than there is now.”― Walt Whitman

60. “Be curious, not judgemental.”― Walt Whitman

61. “And that all the things of the universe are perfect miracles, each as profound as any.”― Walt Whitman

62. “The clock indicates the moment…but what does eternity indicate?”― Walt Whitman

63. “If you see a good deal remarkable in me I see just as much remarkable in you.”― Walt Whitman

64. “I do not say these things for a dollar, or to fill up the time while I wait for a boat;”― Walt Whitman

65. “It seems to me that everything in the light and air ought to be happy; / Whoever is not in his coffin and the dark grave, let him know he has enough.”― Walt Whitman

More Walt Whitman quotes and sayings

66. “All I mark as my own you shall offset it with your own, else it were time lost listening to me.” – Walt Whitman

67. “The beauty of independence, departure, actions that rely on themselves.” – Walt Whitman

68. “What is that you express in your eyes? It seems to me more than all the print I have read in my life.” – Walt Whitman

69. “Night, sleep, death and the stars.” – Walt Whitman

70. “I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the wounded person.” – Walt Whitman

71. “These are the days that must happen to you.” – Walt Whitman

72. “The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.” – Walt Whitman

73. “You must habit yourself to the dazzle of the light and of every moment of your life.” – Walt Whitman

74. “A writer can do nothing for men more necessary, satisfying than just simply to reveal to them the infinite possibility of their own souls.” ― Walt Whitman

75. “To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle.”― Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman quotes from the poet

76. “Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you. You must travel it by yourself. It is not far. It is within reach.” ― Walt Whitman.

77. “Baseball is our game: the American game: I connect it with our national character.” – Walt Whitman

78. “He or she is greatest who contributes the greatest original practical example.” – Walt Whitman

79. “… is that the President? Then I will sleep awhile yet, for I see that these States sleep.” – Walt Whitman

80. “I am large, I contain multitudes.” – Walt Whitman

81. “Clear and sweet is my soul, and clear and sweet is all that is not my soul.” – Walt Whitman

82. “I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable, I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world. ” – Walt Whitman

83. “I believe in all that – in baseball, in picnics, in freedom.” – Walt Whitman

84. “I have distanced what is behind me for good reasons,
And call anything close again when I desire it.” – Walt Whitman

85. “Wisdom is of the soul, is not susceptible of proof, is its own proof.” – Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman Quotes to Give You an Open Mind

86. “Something there is more immortal even than the stars.” — Walt Whitman

87. “Are you the new person drawn toward me? To begin with, take warning, I am surely far different from what you suppose.” — Walt Whitman

88. “I act as the tongue of you, … tied in your mouth . . . . in mine it begins to be loosened.” — Walt Whitman

89. “The press of my foot to the earth springs a hundred affections.” — Walt Whitman

90. “Copulation is no more foul to me than death is.” — Walt Whitman

91. “A man is a great thing upon the earth and through eternity; but every jot of the greatness of man is unfolded out of woman.” — Walt Whitman

92. “And I will show of male and female that either is but the equal of the other.” — Walt Whitman

93. “Logic and sermons never convince, The damp of the night drives deeper into my soul.” — Walt Whitman

94. “All faults may be forgiven of him who has perfect candor.” — Walt Whitman

95. “I dote on myself. There is a lot of me and all so luscious.” — Walt Whitman

Which of these Walt Whitman quotes was your favorite?

Although his work received little attention at first and was deemed controversial in its time, Whitman is regarded as one of America’s most groundbreaking poets.

He was considered a symbol of American democracy and influenced many other scholars.

To date, he continues to hold the attention of very different generations.

Hopefully, these quotes have inspired you to think outside the box and to be the best version of you.

Did you enjoy these Walt Whitman quotes?

Which of the quotes was your favorite?

Tell us in the comment section below.