Leaves of grass. (1861-1861) | ||
398
To One shortly To Die.
1.
From all the rest I single out you, having a message for you:You are to die—Let others tell you what they please, I cannot prevaricate,
I am exact and merciless, but I love you—There is no escape for you.
2.
Softly I lay my right hand upon you—you just feel it,I do not argue—I bend my head close, and half-envelop it,
I sit quietly by—I remain faithful,
I am more than nurse, more than parent or neighbor,
I absolve you from all except yourself, spiritual, bodily—that is eternal,
(The corpse you will leave will be but excrementitious.)
3.
The sun bursts through in unlooked-for directions!Strong thoughts fill you, and confidence—you smile!
You forget you are sick, as I forget you are sick,
You do not see the medicines—you do not mind the weeping friends—I am with you,
I exclude others from you—there is nothing to be commiserated,
I do not commiserate—I congratulate you.
Leaves of grass. (1861-1861) | ||