Leaves of Grass (1871-72)


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WHISPERS OF HEAVENLY DEATH.


1  WHISPERS of heavenly death murmur'd I hear;
Labial gossip of night—sibilant chorals;
Footsteps gently ascending—mystical breezes, wafted
         soft and low;
Ripples of unseen rivers—tides of a current, flowing,
         forever flowing;
(Or is it the plashing of tears? the measureless waters
         of human tears?)

2  I see, just see skyward, great cloud-masses,
Mournfully, slowly they roll, silently swelling and mix-
         ing,
With, at times, a half-dimm'd, sadden'd, far-off star,
Appearing and disappearing.

3  (Some parturition rather—some solemn, immortal
         birth:
On the frontiers, to eyes impenetrable,
Some Soul is passing over.)
 
 
 
 
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