Leaves of Grass

BOOK XXX. WHISPERS OF HEAVENLY DEATH

Darest Thou Now O Soul

  Darest thou now O soul,
  Walk out with me toward the unknown region,
  Where neither ground is for the feet nor any path to follow?

  No map there, nor guide,
  Nor voice sounding, nor touch of human hand,
  Nor face with blooming flesh, nor lips, nor eyes, are in that land.

  I know it not O soul,
  Nor dost thou, all is a blank before us,
  All waits undream’d of in that region, that inaccessible land.

  Till when the ties loosen,
  All but the ties eternal, Time and Space,
  Nor darkness, gravitation, sense, nor any bounds bounding us.

  Then we burst forth, we float,
  In Time and Space O soul, prepared for them,
  Equal, equipt at last, (O joy! O fruit of all!) them to fulfil O soul.