April 17, 2005  

In a kingdom by the sea

I rediscovered this poem this weekend. Forgot how much I loved it.

Annabel Lee, by Edgar Allen 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.

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 is 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 kinsmen 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 lay 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 sounding sea.

Thanks, Anabeli!

4 Responses to “In a kingdom by the sea”

  1. A. Fernandez says :

    Suggestion: read this poem with a nice cup of tea, and a shisha with a nice apple flavored tobacco.

  2. John says :

    Hey that’s a great idea. But I thought Poe smoked opium?

  3. Krista says :

    love this poemmmmmmm

  4. Donna says :

    Thanks for posting. I had to memorize this in 8th grade. This poem evokes similar emotions as A. Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo.