The Last Invocation

"The Last Invocation" is the second song of Ernst Bacon's song collection Songs at Parting: A Selection of Poems by Walt Whitman.

Image: Walt Whitman, ca. 1860, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Digital ID: cwpbh 00752

Date: 1930Composer: Ernst BaconText: Walt WhitmanSong Collection: Songs at Parting

Print vitals & song text

Text

The Last Invocation
by Walt Whitman

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.)

Sheet Music

Songs at Parting

Composer(s): Ernst Bacon

Song(s): 1. Grand is the Seen
2. The Last Invocation
3. Darest Thou Now, O Soul
4. Twilight
5. One Thought Ever at the Fore
6. Joy, Shipmate, Joy!
7. Whispers of Heavenly Death
8. The Sobbing of the Bells

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