Motet Translations

Omar Najmi: The Last Invocation

Walt Whitman

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.)