Content:
Draft of a poem which Whitman titled "Nearing Departure." Whitman retitled the poem "To My
Soul" when it was first published, in the 1860 edition of
Leaves of Grass
. In 1867 Whitman cut eight lines and
revised others, retitling the poem "As Nearing Departure" and moving it to an untitled group of poems in
the supplement "Songs Before
Parting." In 1872 it was finally retitled "As the Time Draws Nigh" and transferred to the cluster
"Songs of Parting" within
the main body of
Leaves of
Grass
.
