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by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)

The last invocation
 (Sung text for setting by J. Rogers)
 Matches original text
Language: English 
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.)

Composition:

    Set to music by James Hotchkiss Rogers (1857 - 1940), "The last invocation", published 1919 [ voice and piano ], from In Memoriam, no. 3, New York, G. Schirmer

Text Authorship:

  • by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), "The last invocation", appears in Leaves of Grass, first published 1900

See other settings of this text.


Research team for this page: Ted Perry , Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 11
Word count: 70

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