LONG I thought that knowledge alone would suffice me-O if I could but obtain
knowledge!
Then my lands engrossed me-Lands of the prairies, Ohio’s land, the southern
savannas,
engrossed me-For them I would live-I would be their orator;
Then I met the examples of old and new heroes-I heard of warriors, sailors, and all
dauntless persons-And it seemed to me that I too had it in me to be as dauntless as
any-and would be so;
And then, to enclose all, it came to me to strike up the songs of the New World-And
then I
believed my life must be spent in singing;
But now take notice, land of the prairies, land of the south savannas, Ohio’s land,
Take notice, you Kanuck woods-and you Lake Huron-and all that with you roll
toward
Niagara-and you Niagara also,
And you, Californian mountains-That you each and all find somebody else to be your
singer
of songs,
For I can be your singer of songs no longer-One who loves me is jealous of me, and
withdraws me from all but love,
With the rest I dispense-I sever from what I thought would suffice me, for it does
not-it is now empty and tasteless to me,
I heed knowledge, and the grandeur of The States, and the example of heroes, no more,
I am indifferent to my own songs-I will go with him I love,
It is to be enough for us that we are together-We never separate again.
(Walt Whitman)
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Based on Topics: Love Poems, Mind Poems, Thought & Thinking Poems, Wisdom & Knowledge Poems, Singing Poems, Heroism PoemsBased on Keywords: orator, ohio, engrossed, singer, tasteless, niagara, me-for, savannas, californian, not-it, world-and