Thursday, February 3, 2011

ANNABEL LEE


















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.

Edgar Allan Poe 
1809-49


photo the North Sea: gb

5 comments:

Teresa Evangeline said...

I've always liked this poem. The phrase, "kingdom by the sea." has long left me with a distinct feeling and image. A perfect photo to illustrate.

Thyra said...

Yes, "the kingdom by the sea" is such a strong line. And when you say the poem, either inside yourself or aloud it is rolling like waves by the sea.
Grethe´)

Teuvo Vehkalahti said...

Greetings from Finland. This blog is fun to explore, through other countries, people, culture and nature. Come see the pictures Teuvo blog and tell all your friends know why you should visit Teuvo pictures blog. Therefore, to obtain your country's flag to rise higher in my blog flag collection. Merry February Teuvo Vehkalahti Finland

Thyra said...

Hello Teuvo! Thank you so much for your kind words. You've got some fine photos from the tough Finnish winter on your blog.I'll follow your blog to rise the Danish flag high in your flag collection!!
Cheers
Grethe ´)

Cletis said...

Poe 1809-1849: That always stuns me. He always seems so much more contemporary. Do you know Ulalume? The most beautiful of his works in my opinion?