ANNABEL LEE

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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.

1849

© Edgar Allan Poe
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© E-publisher LiterNet, 21.03.2009
The Sun Is but a Morning Star. Anthology of American Literature. Edited by Albena Bakratcheva. Varna: LiterNet, 2008-2010.