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

1809-1849

Biography

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