As Nearing Departure
1 AS nearing departure,
As the time draws nigh, glooming, a cloud,
A dread beyond, of I know not what, darkens me.
2 I shall go forth,
I shall traverse The States—but I cannot tell whither
or how long;
Perhaps soon, some day or night while I am singing,
my voice will suddenly cease.
3 O book and chant! must all then amount to but
this?
Must we barely arrive at this beginning of me?…
And yet it is enough, O soul!
O soul! we have positively appear’d—that is enough.
Songs Before Parting
Other works by Walt Whitman...
