Long I thought that knowledge alone would 
          suffice me—O if I could but obtain
          knowledge! 
Then my lands^{the Land of the Prairies}
          engrossed me—^{—the south 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 the examples of 
          warriors, sailors, and all dauntless
          persons—And it seemed to me I too
          had it in me to be as dauntless as any,
          and would be so; 
And then to finish 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
          all find some one else that he be your 
          singer of songs, 
For I can be your singer of songs no 
          longer — I have passed ahead—
          I have ceased to enjoy them.
I have found him who loves me, as I him, in
          perfect love, 
With the rest I dispense—I sever from all 
          that 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 examples of heroes, no
          more, 
I am indifferent to my own songs—I am to
          go with him I love, and he is to go
          with me, 
It is to be enough for each of us that we are
          together—We never separate again.—