Love me for what I am, Love. Not for sake

Of some imagined thing which I might be,
Some brightness or some goodness not in me,
Born of your hope, as dawn to eyes that wake
Imagined morns before the morning break.
If I, to please you (whom I fain would please),
Reset myself like new key to old tune,
Chained thought, remodelled action, very soon
My hand would slip from yours, and by degrees
The loving, faulty friend, so close to-day,
Would vanish, and another take her place, --
A stranger with a stranger's scrutinies,
A new regard, an unfamiliar face.
Love me for what I am, then, if you may;
But, if you cannot, -- love me either way.

Text by Susan Coolidge (1835-1905) is in the public domain.

In a search for beautiful, powerful poetry, I stumbled across this short poem by Susan Coolidge (Sarah Chauncey Woolsey). The chorale-like nature, plaintive dissonances and warm harmonies seemed to call out for the simple feeling of breathing. 

This a capella choral setting is meant to breathe. As the poem progresses, feel each phrase as it inhales and exhales. The held notes at cadences are open to change — take time, and let them settle. Let the notes ring. Let the phrases float. Let the piece breathe.

This piece was awarded first place in the Via Choralis Competition 2017.