by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)
We two ‑‑ how long we were fool'd!
Language: English
We two -- how long we were fool'd! Now transmuted, we swiftly escape, as Nature escapes; We are Nature -- long have we been absent, but now we return; We become plants, leaves, foliage, roots, bark; We are bedded in the ground -- we are rocks; We are oaks -- we grow in the openings side by side; We browse -- we are two among the wild herds, spontaneous as any; We are two fishes swimming in the sea together; We are what the locust blossoms are -- we drop scent around the lanes, mornings and evenings; We are also the coarse smut of beasts, vegetables, minerals; We are two predatory hawks -- we soar above, and look down; We are two resplendent suns -- we it is who balance ourselves, orbic and stellar -- we are as two comets; We prowl fang'd and four-footed in the woods -- we spring on prey; We are two clouds, forenoons and afternoons, driving overhead; We are seas mingling -- we are two of those cheerful waves, rolling over each other, and interwetting each other; We are what the atmosphere is, transparent, receptive, pervious, impervious: We are snow, rain, cold, darkness -- we are each product and influence of the globe; We have circled and circled till we have arrived home again -- we two have; We have voided all but freedom, and all but our own joy.
Portions of this text were used in Idyll by Frederick Delius.
Authorship:
- by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), "We two -- how long we were fool'd!", appears in Leaves of Grass [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-01-31
Line count: 23
Word count: 222