Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, AFTER THE SUPPER AND TALK, by WALT WHITMAN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

AFTER THE SUPPER AND TALK, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: After the supper and talk - after the day is done
Last Line: Garrulous to the very last.


After the supper and talk -- after the day is done,
As a friend from friends his final withdrawal prolonging,
Good-bye and Good-bye with emotional lips repeating,
(So hard for his hand to release those hands -- no more
will they meet,
No more for communion of sorrow and joy, of old and young,
A far-stretching journey awaits him, to return no more,)
Shunning, postponing severance -- seeking to ward off the
last word ever so little,
E'en at the exit-door turning -- charges superfluous
calling back -- e'en as he descends the steps,
Something to eke out a minute additional -- shadows of
nightfall deepening,
Farewells, messages lessening -- dimmer the forthgoer's
visage and form,
Soon to be lost for aye in the darkness -- loth, O so loth to depart!
Garrulous to the very last.





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