annabelle lee - respectfully borrowed from 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 Annabelle 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 sepulcher
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 Annabelle 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 Annabelle Lee.
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabelle Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabelle 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 sepulcher there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
---
I made my way as the sun crept away
And the moon rose full above me
To the dreary place where my love did lay
In her tomb by the surrounding sea.
Somewhere nearby, a raven did cry
But what words could he have for me?

As I walked, my only thought
Was of the beautiful Annabelle Lee
Upon the door, her visage, I swore;
A ghost had appeared before me.
I jumped with fright, but a trick of the light;
She was not my Annabelle Lee.
Through the door and across the floor;
Her name on a large marquee
And under on its plinth sat
The body I'd come to see.
The tears did rise to my weary eyes
As I was greeted by my Annabelle Lee.
Death did suit her, I thought to myself.
With demure she smiled at me.
Though as I perceived her standing there,
Not quite as dead as should be.
There! No doubt another trick of the light;
(But still, and with alarming speed)
From her mouth, eye-teeth did sprout;
Revel, a devil, poised before me.

Thus was the change, the curse, the demise
Of the heart of my Annabelle Lee;
The heart which had beat for me.
And in her eyes, she could barely disguise
Her hunger, her thirst for me.
My love! I cried, and as I tried
To assuage her villainous spree
She caught me by the throat, this monster;
But yes, still my Annabelle Lee.
As the light died from my weeping eyes
And my life passed before me,
I knew my soul, with hers, was captured;
But for just once more, I was enraptured
By the embrace of my Annabelle Lee.

We'll live forever, her and me;
I and my Annabelle Lee