Walt Whitman: O, Soul!
Walt Whitman, poet of the soul, offers many poems that include the concept of Soul. Here’s one we find lovely…
The Last Invocation
AT the last, tenderly,
From the walls of the powerful fortress’d house,
From the clasp of the knitted locks, from the keep of the well-closed doors,
Let me be wafted.
Let me glide noiselessly forth;
With the key of softness unlock the locks—with a whisper,
Set ope the doors O soul.
Tenderly—be not impatient,
(Strong is your hold O mortal flesh,
Strong is your hold O love.)
—Walt Whitman
Try It: “Speak to Your Soul, Glide Forth” Poetry Prompt
Whitman seems to feel that his Soul can travel further than his body if only unlocked. In some profound ways, that can certainly be true for many of us, far before facing our final days.
Think about your wider concerns, hopes, dreams that might be bigger than what you feel your body can hold or make happen. Take a journey with your Soul to wherever you like. Poems make great transport. (In fact, if you want to add a kind of transportation in your poem, feel free!)
Photo by Annie Spratt, Creative Commons, via Unsplash.
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