Truth is split
The poets know
Not the philosophers
Or scientists
Truth is split
Between
Sky and earth
East and West
Day and night
Man and woman
Land and sea
Truth is not uniformity
Or conformity
This Whitman knew
So did Thoreau
Who trod on
Opposite roads
Multitude delighted Whitman
Solitude inspired Thoreau
Looking at Brooklyn Ferry
Whitman saw men and women
Travelling from the past
To present and future
Suez canal thrilled him
For unifying men and seas
Thoreau seceded from men
And seas to a lonely pond
Whitman sang of men and women
Thoreau of birds and trees
Truth is split
Between Thoreau and Whitman
Between you and me
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem