A Noiseless Patient Spider

"A Noiseless Patient Spider" is a short poem by Walt Whitman. It was originally part of his poem "Whispers of Heavenly Death", written expressly for The Broadway, A London Magazine, issue 10, numbered as stanza "3." It was retitled "A Noiseless Patient Spider" and reprinted as part of a larger cluster in Passage to India (1871). The poem was later published in Whitman's poetry collection Leaves of Grass. The poem has inspired other poets and musical compositions for its theme of the individual soul in relation to the world.