Long I Thought That Knowledge
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, 10
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.
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