Whitman interlude

D. Mason

A noiseless, patient spider,

I mark'd, where, on a little promontory, it stood, isolated;

Mark'd how, to explore the vacant, vast surrounding,

It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself;

Ever unreeling them -- ever tirelessly speeding them.

And you, O my Soul, where you stand,

Surrounded, surrounded, in measureless oceans of space,

Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, -- seeking the spheres, to connect them;

Till the bridge you will need, be form'd -- till the ductile anchor hold;

Till the gossamer thread you fling, catch somewhere, O my Soul.