The Last Invocation

THE LAST INVOCATION

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.)

-Walt Whitman

First performance: October 2, 1988, at the Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis,
Minnesota, by the Choir of Westminster Abbey, Martin Neary, Director.