Poem by Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass. 30. Whispers of Heavenly Death. 2. Whispers of Heavenly Death

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?)

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

(Some parturition rather, some solemn immortal birth;
On the frontiers to eyes impenetrable,
Some soul is passing over.)

1. Leaves of Grass. 21. Drum-Taps. 30. Race of Veterans
2. Leaves of Grass. 32. From Noon to Starry Night. 12. Mediums
3. Leaves of Grass. 32. From Noon to Starry Night. 16. From Far Dakota's Canyons [June 25, 1876]
4. Leaves of Grass. 35. Good-Bye My Fancy. 11. Shakspere-Bacon’s Cipher
5. Leaves of Grass. 20. By the Roadside. 8. Perfections

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