"Serenade" by Djuna Barnes

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend June 3, 2017   Serenade   Djuna Barnes

Three paces down the shore, low sounds the lute, The better that my longing you may know; I'm not asking you to come, But—can't you go?   Three words, "I love you," and the whole is said— The greatness of it throbs from sun to sun; I'm not asking you to walk, But—can't you run?   Three paces in the moonlight's glow I stand, And here within the twilight beats my heart. I'm not asking you to finish, But—to start.            This poem is in the public domain. About This Poem   "Serenade" was published in All-Story Cavalier Weekly in May 1914.   Djuna Barnes was born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, in 1892. Her works include The Book of Repulsive Women (Guido Bruno, 1915) and Nightwood (Harcourt Brace, 1937). She died in New York City in 1982.   Poetry by Barnes   Ladies Almanack (Martino Fine Books, 2016)  "Moonrise" by H. D. "To Joseph Lee" by Angelina Weld Grimké "I shall forget you presently, my dear (Sonnet IV)" by Edna St. Vincent Millay Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. If you enjoy Poem-a-Day, please consider making a donation to help make it possible. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038