There Was a Child Went Forth

"There Was a Child Went Forth" is a poem written by Walt Whitman and included in the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass. In the 1856 edition, Whitman titled it, "Poem of the Child That Went Forth, and Always Goes Forth, Forever and Forever". The poem was given its present title in the 1871 edition, and was included in the "Autumn Rivulets" cluster in the 1881 edition.

The text of the poem suggests it is autobiographical with its vivid renderings of the impressions and experiences of a growing child. The poet presents a mixture of country and city scenes as he records his memories of early domestic life and his perceptions of the world outside. Some critics have interpreted the poem not just as a metaphor of a child's journey from infancy to adulthood, but also as a metaphor of "the journey of young America from embryo to world power."