Sunday, March 08, 2015

Poetry Sunday


Edgar Allan Poe published a great many profoundly weird stories that rank among the greatest tales of horror and terror ever written. He also wrote a great many very fine poems, some of which also feature ... disturbing elements. This is one of my favorite Poe poems, and it contains some of the most beautiful lines of poetry I think have ever been written. I'll tell you which ones they are after you're done reading ...

Annabel Lee
by Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,
     In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
     By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
     Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
     In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
     I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
     Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
     In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
     My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
     And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
     In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
     Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
     In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
     Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
     Of those who were older than we-
     Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
     Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
     Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
     Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
     Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
     In the sepulchre there by the sea,
     In her tomb by the sounding sea.


Did you guess my favorite lines? They are:

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
     Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
     Of the beautiful Annabel Lee

Life and love are good when you find your own Annabel Lee.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

3 comments:

The Bastard King of England said...

That's a great poem, with a marvelous rhyme. I enjoyed it.

Mike said...

Jealous angels? Angels not.

eViL pOp TaRt said...

A great selection, Bilbo! It has a compelling rhyme, theme, and imagery. Poe could be really good with his poems.