 | Leaves of grass. |  |
4
8 I have perceiv'd that
to be with those I like is
enough,
To stop in company with the rest at evening is enough,
To be surrounded by beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh is enough,
To pass among them, or touch any one, or rest my arm ever so lightly round his or her neck for a moment — what is this then?
I do not ask any more delight — I swim in it, as in a sea.
9 There is something in staying close to men and wo- men, and looking on them, and in the contact and odor of them, that pleases the soul well;
All things please the soul — but these please the soul well.
To stop in company with the rest at evening is enough,
To be surrounded by beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh is enough,
To pass among them, or touch any one, or rest my arm ever so lightly round his or her neck for a moment — what is this then?
I do not ask any more delight — I swim in it, as in a sea.
9 There is something in staying close to men and wo- men, and looking on them, and in the contact and odor of them, that pleases the soul well;
All things please the soul — but these please the soul well.
| Leaves of grass. | |