I first visited the Hempstead Plains Ecological reserve near Whitman's birthplace to be able to walk amongst some of the best preserved prairie grass on Long Island.  My visit coincided with a poetry workshop based on the wild grasses within the reserve. 

It was September and all was in bloom.  We walked slowly and were guided by the director of the project.  I felt a profound emotion walking through those grasslands with Whitman on my mind.  The next year I returned and took a tactile walk in the same place in August.  There were fewer blooms and one stalk stood out tall and bushy.  The paths were grown over and I was able to amble through the preserve, stroking the “leaves of grass.”  The visual walk had deceived me upon reaching out to touch these grasses.  What appeared silky turned out to be rough.  Other long stalks seemed elegant and were strong and sturdy.  The tactile walk changed my poetic voice for those grasses.