Leave a Trail — Muriel Strode Quote Sweatshirt

Muriel Strode published Wind-Wafted Wild Flowers in 1903 — poetry built around the idea that the individual must make the way, not follow it. The line that opens this sweatshirt became one of the most widely circulated quotes of the last century. Almost no one knows her name.

Muriel Strode

"I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there is no path, and I will leave a trail."

Muriel Strode wrote this in 1903, in a poem called Wind-Wafted Wild Flowers. For over a century, the words traveled without her name — attributed to Emerson, to Thoreau, to anyone but her. Borrowed by calendars and motivational posters and LinkedIn bios, endlessly recycled, never credited. This sweatshirt gives her name back.

If you've ever:

• Made a decision that nobody around you understood — and been right about it three years later
• Looked at the obvious route and taken the other one, not out of stubbornness but out of certainty
• Finished something nobody had a blueprint for, because you wrote the blueprint while doing it

This is for you.

The Design

The quote is on the back, and it builds the way the sentence builds. The opening lines arrive quietly. Two gold rules divide the quote into three movements.

By the time you reach the final clause — AND I WILL LEAVE A TRAIL. — it's large, it's certain, and it's the last thing anyone sees when you walk away. That's the only direction the sentence goes.

About This Sweatshirt

Quote printed on the back. Quoteiac logo on the left sleeve.

• Garment-dyed crewneck — 9.5 oz heavyweight fleece, piece-dyed after construction for that slightly faded, lived-in look that gets better with every wash
• Relaxed fit — true to size; size up if between sizes
• Machine wash cold, tumble dry low
• Available in Black
• Quoteiac logo on left sleeve

Who It's For

The one who stopped asking for directions. Who knows the path other people cleared leads to the places other people wanted to go. Who moves first and doesn't need anyone to see it coming — only where they've been.

Wear the trail.

Muriel Strode, in Plain English

• Lived: 1875–1964, Illinois
• Poet, essayist, and early advocate for progressive education — she spent decades teaching and writing in Chicago
• Published Wind-Wafted Wild Flowers in 1903, the collection that contains this poem. Largely forgotten within a generation
• Her words became famous. Her name didn't — until the internet started tracing misattributed quotes back to their sources. She was Emerson for a hundred years. She's Strode now.

Size Chart (Garment-Dyed Sweatshirt)