Nature and Invention

Nature and Invention

People and Places

 

People and Places

 

 Annabel Lee

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 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 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 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 sounding sea.

 By Edgar Allen Poe 

1809-1849

Born in Boston, Massachusetts

War and Hope

War and Hope

Dreamers 

By Siegfried Sassoon

There Will Come Soft Rains

By Sara Teasdale

      In Siegfried Sassoon's poem "Dreamers",  he writes about the horrible conditions in which soldiers risk their lives for their country, and the consequences. I think this is more relevant today than Sara Teasdale's poem "There Will Come Soft Rains" only because the war in Syria happening at the moment is something we all know about. All civilians owe soldiers an immense amount of gratitude, for risking their lives everyday to preserve life as we know it. They lie in uncomfortable dug-out trenches, shooting at strangers all day, wishing only to be home, safe with their families. However, Sara Teasdale's poem also speaks about the after effects of war. She states that if mankind died off because of their inexplicable desire to fight and kill, the change would drastically improve life on Earth. Hopefully there will come a time when we all realize that life would be much easier without war, hostility and bloodshed, and instead to all work together.

Love and Loneliness

Love and Loneliness

(A poem with borrowed lines)

Being in love gives us such elation,

Like walking on clouds, an amazing sensation.

Come live with me, and be my love,  *

Our love will be perfect, something my life has been void of.

We'll never, ever want to part,

Don't worry, you'll always be in my heart.

Now loneliness is a whole other story.

It fills us with despair, and also with worry.

There's a need to escape, with no other choice, 

No one to hear the sound of my voice. **

So next time you're lonely, or even just scared,

Come and find me, for you I'll be there.

* Line borrowed from "Love Under the Republicans (or Democrats) by Ogden Nash.

**Line borrowed from "Wabanaki Song" by Charles G. Leland.