ANNABEL LEE

by Edgar Allan Poe (1849)

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.

She was a child and I 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 by night    Chilling my Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born 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 a cloud, 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 see 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 her sepulchre there by the sea--    In her tomb by the side of the sea.

-- THE END --