How could I post about Halloween and horror without mentioning Edgar Allan Poe? His stories and poems were my first introduction into the horror genre. My dad would read his works to me before I went to bed at night when I was little. He would read to me with such furvor, using different voices. I think he's part of the reason I love to read so much. This is my favorite poem by Edgar Allan Poe. The ending always gives me chills no matter how many times I read it.
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.
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 beautiful painting above is from dustfae on Deviantart.com.*
2 comments:
beautiful. ah, such longing.
I remember finding this so beautiful and disturbing when I read it as a kid. And then later, in high school, no one seemed to get the necrophilia aspect, which sparked a big conversation.
But as creepy/gross as it is, it's so beautiful and lyrical. I need to dig out my Poe and reread some.
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