Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By WaltWhitman

378 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 undreamed of in that region, that inaccessible land.

Till when the tie is loosened,

All but the ties eternal, Time and Space,

Nor darkness, gravitation, sense, nor any bounds boundings us.

Then we burst forth, we float,

In Time and Space, O soul! prepared for them,

Equal, equipped at last, (O joy! O fruit of all!) them to fulfil, O soul!