Whoever you
are holding me now in hand,
Without one
thing all will be useless,
I give you
fair warning before you attempt me further,
I am not
what you supposed, but far different.
Who is he
that would become my follower?
Who would
sign himself a candidate for my affections?
The way is
suspicious, the result uncertain, perhaps destructive,
You would
have to give up all else, I alone would
expect to
be your sole and exclusive standard,
Your
novitiate would even then be long and exhausting,
The whole
past theory of your life and all
conformity
to the lives around you would have to be abandon'd,
Therefore
release me now before troubling yourself any further,
let go your
hand from my shoulders,
Put me down
and depart on your way.
(Whitman Walt)
