Thoreau states that he sang as he built his cabin.

In the Economy chapter of Walden, Thoreau states that he sang as he built his cabin.
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So I went on for some days cutting and hewing timber, and also studs and rafters, all with my narrow axe, not having many communicable or scholar-like thoughts, singing to myself,— 

Men say they know many things; 

But lo! they have taken wings—

The arts and sciences, 

And a thousand appliances; 

The wind that blows Is all that any body knows.

--Thoreau, Henry David (2012-05-16). Walden (p. 29).  Kindle Edition

When I despair of my fellow Americans, I remember that Henry David Thoreau is also my countryman.

I could argue for hours that almost every sentence that Thoreau wrote is poetry and that includes the two million or so words in his journals. 

We mere mortals search for the exact word, the sentence that will speak to the heart, the image that will teach the eye of the reader. All those things simply flow from Thoreau's pen. Magic ink. Magic pencil (high quality that he made himself).

I dare you to read Thoreau aloud for two hours, and then take a familiar walk. 
Likely, you will hear and see what you didn't see before. 
You may even stop and argue sweetly with a neighbor,"Don't waste your time here, live simply, seek justice, and pay attention!

Sing while you work!