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.