not heat flames up and consumes

Not Heat Flames Up and Consumes

for TTBB choir, a cappella

Not heat flames up and consumes,
Not sea-waves hurry in and out,
Not the air, delicious and dry, the air of the ripe summer, bears lightly along white down-balls of myriads of seeds,
Wafted, sailing gracefully, to drop where they may;
Not these - O none of these, more than the flames of me, consuming, burning for his love whom I love!
O none, more than I, hurrying in and out:
Does the tide hurry, seeking something, and never give up? O I the same;
O nor down-balls, nor perfumes, nor the high, rain-emitting clouds, are borne through the open air,
Any more than my Soul is borne through the open air,
Wafted in all directions, O love, for friendship, for you.

Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)