|
last
2
At the Mouth of the River
|
[Last of ebb]
| Last of
the
the
ebb, and daylight waning, |
| Scented sea‑breaths landward making—smells |
| of the salt and sedge incoming, |
| While many
the
a
half‑caught
voice
sound
comes up from |
|
those frantic
the
whirls and eddies,
|
| Many
the
a
muffled confession, many
a
the
a
sob |
| and whispering word, |
| As of
speakers
voices
speakers
far or hid. |
|
| |
| |
 [Leaf 1 verso]
|
| How they sweep down and out! how |
| they mutter! |
|
Hopes
Pride
of
youth—
manhood—
tones of the dying— |
a
the
chorus of age's complaints—feverish |
| love,
—the last,
—hope's
last bitter words, |
|
[paper glued]
|
Haply
the
The
he
He
roes
unknown,
unnamed, borne down borne down
off—
—the poets |
| and artists unknown, yet
|
| greater than any,
known
|
|
[paper glued]
|
| Some suicide's despair's beguiling
words,
cry,
and wish,
|
Away
Away
t
T
o the boundless waste,
and
to
and
|
| never again return
.
ing
.
|
|
| |
| |
|
[Leaf 1 verso]
|
?
|
So
^
Hold ye so
many burnt-out lives,
O
ye
drowning tide many burnt-out lives, drowning tide
^
and
waning
fading
light
!
?
|
|
Such ventures,
—such
aspirations lost? such failures?
|
|
| |
On (On!(On!
!
on on to oblivion
,
,
then
!
^
ye
ventures
aspirations
lost
[aspirations?]
On, On,
more quickly
quicker
|
| on quicker yet yet, ye
sweltering, whirling, shrouding |
|
waters!)
ebb!)
waters!)
|
On to oblivion then! ^
on quicker,
quicker yet on,
quicker yet,
on ye sweltering shrouding wate
rs
r
|
|
^
(On
for your time ye furious debouché! On, quicker yet
|
|
|
-
Date
- Whitman probably composed this manuscript shortly
before its publication in 1885.
-
Editorial note
- This manuscript is a draft of the poem "Last of Ebb, and Daylight Waning," first
published in the "Fancies at Navesink" sequence of poems in the August, 1885 issue of Nineteenth
Century.
- The verso of leaf #1 is blank.
- The verso of leaf #2 is blank.
- The verso of leaf #3 is blank.
-
Notes written on manuscript
- In top margin, in unknown hand: 11.
- In top margin, in unknown hand: 12.
- In top margin, in unknown hand: 13.
-
Location
- Last of ebb, and daylight waning | Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and
Manuscript Library.
-
Whitman Archive ID
- yal.00046
|
