Leaves of Grass, 1855 edition, but it was prose, not poetry. 

It was a preface, but wasn't labeled.  Just pages of text.  Poems weren't title, either.

After a bit more Googling, I found the best source for the text, The Walt Whitman Archive.

This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one 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, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body. . . . . . . . The poet shall not spend his time in unneeded work. He shall know that the ground is always ready ploughed and manured . . . . others may not know it but he shall. He shall go directly to the creation. His trust shall master the trust of everything he touches . . . . and shall master all attachment. 

Originally posted by: bob3000 wouldn't Desiderata, or a myriad of other "life guides" work, too?

Indeed it do Babs!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFLvhKv-Lbo

Yo no estoy casado.

Pero mi esposa esta casada.

" and shall master all attachment. "

It's good to see that such a notable mind had trouble simple things.

I have yet to master attachment, making pics show up, and all that computery stuff...

tom

And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?"

We, the people of the State of Florida, being grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty, in order to secure its benefits, perfect our government, insure domestic tranquility, maintain public order, and guarantee equal civil and political rights to all, do ordain and establish this constitution.

One Fish, Two Fish

Red Fish, Blue Fish

This one has a little car, This one has a little star

My, what a lot of fish there are!

No brainwashing requirement for Dr. Seuss, thus its superior.

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." - Mohandas K Gandhi

The NR part???

We, the people of the State of Florida, being grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty, in order to secure its benefits, perfect our government, insure domestic tranquility, maintain public order, and guarantee equal civil and political rights to all, do ordain and establish this constitution.

I saw a NR movie once.

It had No Religion in it.

None.

That is beautiful.  My favorite part of Leaves of Grass:

I hear and behold God in every object, yet understand God not in the least,
  Nor do I understand who there can be more wonderful than myself.

  Why should I wish to see God better than this day?
  I see something of God each hour of the twenty-four, and each moment then,
  In the faces of men and women I see God, and in my own face in the glass,
  I find letters from God dropt in the street, and every one is sign'd
      by God's name,
  And I leave them where they are, for I know that wheresoe'er I go,
  Others will punctually come for ever and ever.

This is better:

The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play.

So we sat in the house All that cold, cold, wet day.

I sat there with Sally, we sat there we two.

And I said, “How I wish we had something to do!”

Too wet to go out and too cold to play ball.

So we sat in the house. We did nothing at all.

So all we could do was to Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!

And we did not like it. Not one little bit.

And then something went BUMP!

How that bump made us jump!

We looked! Then we saw him step in on the mat!

We looked! And we saw him! The Cat in the Hat!

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." - Mohandas K Gandhi

Pretty good, but Whitman is better.

Thoreau:

Don't make me get J. Alfred out...

Surf related? 

It's no feat

to beat

the heat.

So jeet, you seat.

Be fleet!  Be fleet!

Cool and discreet, honey.

Yo no estoy casado.

Pero mi esposa esta casada.