Page:Leaves of Grass (1860).djvu/282

274 But soft! Sink low—soft! ''Soft! Let me just murmur,'' And do you wait a moment, you husky-noised sea, For somewhere I believe I heard my mate responding
 * to me,

So faint—I must be still to listen, But not altogether still, for then she might not come
 * immediately to me.

Hither, my love! ''Here I am! Here!'' With this just-sustained note I announce myself to
 * you,

This gentle call is for you, my love.

Do not be decoyed elsewhere! That is the whistle of the wind—it is not my voice, That is the fluttering of the spray, Those are the shadows of leaves.

''O darkness! O in vain!'' O I am very sick and sorrowful.

O brown halo in the sky, near the moon, drooping
 * upon the sea!

O troubled reflection in the sea! ''O throat! O throbbing heart!'' O all—and I singing uselessly all the night.

''Murmur! Murmur on!'' O murmurs—you yourselves make me continue to
 * sing, I know not why.