"L’Envoi" by Willa Cather

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend July 29, 2017   L'Envoi   Willa Cather

Where are the loves that we have loved before When once we are alone, and shut the door? No matter whose the arms that held me fast, The arms of Darkness hold me at the last. No matter down what primrose path I tend, I kiss the lips of Silence in the end. No matter on what heart I found delight, I come again unto the breast of Night. No matter when or how love did befall, 'Tis Loneliness that loves me best of all, And in the end she claims me, and I know That she will stay, though all the rest may go. No matter whose the eyes that I would keep Near in the dark, 'tis in the eyes of Sleep That I must look and look forever more, When once I am alone, and shut the door.            This poem is in the public domain. About This Poem   "L'Envoi" was published in April Twilights (The Gorham Press, 1903).   Willa Cather was born in 1873, near Gore, Virginia. She was known widely for her novels and a collection of poems, April Twilights (The Gorham Press, 1903). Cather died in New York City in 1947.  Poetry by Cather   April Twilights and Other Poems (Everyman's Library, 2013) "It's all I have to bring today (26)" by Emily Dickinson "Songs to Joannes, V" by Mina Loy "To a Stranger" by Walt Whitman Help Support Poem-a-Day   If you value Poem-a-Day, please consider a monthly donation or one-time gift to help make it possible. Poem-a-Day is the only digital series publishing new, previously unpublished work by today's poets each weekday morning. The free series, which also features a curated selection of classic poems on weekends, reaches 450,000+ readers daily. Thank you! 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