Whoever you are, come forth! or man or woman come forth!
You must not stay sleeping and dallying there in the house,
     though you built it, or though it has been built for you.

Out of the dark confinement! out from behind the screen!
It is useless to protest, I know all and expose it.

Behold through you as bad as the rest,
Through the laughter, dancing, dining, supping, of people,
Inside of dresses and ornaments, inside of those wash'd and
     trimm'd faces,
Behold a secret silent loathing and despair.

No husband, no wife, no friend, trusted to hear the confession,
Another self, a duplicate of every one, skulking and hiding it goes,
Formless and wordless through the streets of the cities, polite
     and bland in the parlors,
In the cars of railroads, in steamboats, in the public assembly,
Home to the houses of men and women, at the table, in the
     bedroom, everywhere,
Smartly attired, countenance smiling, form upright, death
     under the breast-bones, hell under the skull-bones,
Under the broadcloth and gloves, under the ribbons and
     artificial flowers,

Keeping fair with the customs, speaking not a syllable of
     itself,
Speaking of any thing else but never of itself.

Allons! through struggles and wars!
The goal that was named cannot be countermanded.

Have the past struggles succeeded?
What has succeeded? yourself? your nation? Nature?
Now understand me well — it is provided in the essence of
     things that from any fruition of success, no matter what,
     shall come forth something to make a greater struggle
     necessary.

My call is the call of battle, I nourish active rebellion,
He going with me must go well arm'd,
He going with me goes often with spare diet, poverty, angry
     enemies, desertions.

Allons! the road is before us!
It is safe — I have tried it — my own feet have tried it well — be
     not detain'd!
Let the paper remain on the desk unwritten, and the book on
     the shelf unopen'd!

Let the tools remain in the workshop! let the money remain
     unearn'd!
Let the school stand! mind not the cry of the teacher!
Let the preacher preach in his pulpit! let the lawyer plead in
     the court, and the judge expound the law.

Camerado, I give you my hand!
I give you my love more precise than money,
I give you myself before preaching or law;
Will you give me yourself? will you come travel with me?
Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?

1856 1881