Walt Whitman (1819–1892). Leaves of Grass. 1900.

54. I hear it was Charged against Me

I HEAR it was charged against me that I sought to destroy institutions;

But really I am neither for nor against institutions;

(What indeed have I in common with them?—Or what with the destruction of them?)

Only I will establish in the Mannahatta, and in every city of These States, inland and seaboard,

And in the fields and woods, and above every keel, little or large, that dents the water,

Without edifices, or rules, or trustees, or any argument,

The institution of the dear love of comrades.