by Willa Cather (1873 - 1947)
L'envoi
Language: English
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 in 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 for evermore, When once I am alone, and shut the door.
Text Authorship:
- by Willa Cather (1873 - 1947), appears in April Twilights, first published 1903 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Garth Baxter (b. 1946), "L'envoi" [ voice and guitar ], from From the Heart: Three American Women - Willa, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Garth Baxter
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 141