lord, i am born!

i have built me a body

whose ways are all open,

whose currents run free,

from the life that is thine

flowing ever within me,

to the life that is mine

flowing outward through me.

i am clothed, and my raiment

fits smooth to the spirit,

the soul moves unhindered,

the body is free;

and the thought that my body

falls short of expressing,

in texture and color

unfoldeth on me.

i am housed, o my father!

my body is sheltered,

my spirit has room

’twixt the whole world and me,

i am guarded with beauty and strength,

and within it

is room for still union,

and birth floweth free.

2and the union and birth

of the house, ever growing,

have built me a city—

have born me a state—

where i live manifold,

many-voiced, many-hearted,

never dead, never weary,

and oh! never parted!

the life of the human,

so subtle—so great!

lord, i am born!

from inmost to outmost

the ways are all open,

the currents run free,

from thy voice in my soul

to my joy in the people—

i thank thee, o god,

for this body thou gavest,

which enfoldeth the earth—

is enfolded by thee!