Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, PECULIAR ACROSTIC - A VALENTINE, by EDGAR ALLAN POE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

PECULIAR ACROSTIC - A VALENTINE, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: For her this rhyme is penned, whose luminous eyes
Last Line: You will not read the riddle, though you do the best you can do.
Variant Title(s): A Valentine
Subject(s): Holidays; Valentine's Day


[To translate the address, read the first letter of the first line in
connection with the second letter of the second line, the third letter of the
third line, the fourth of the fourth, and so on to the end. The name will thus
appear.]

For her this rhyme is penned, whose luminous eyes,
Brightly expressive as the twins of Loeda,
Shall find her own sweet name, that, nestling lies
Upon the page, enwrapped from every reader.
Search narrowly the lines! -- they hold a treasure
Divine -- a talisman -- an amulet
That must be worn at heart. Search well the measure --
The words -- the syllables! Do not forget
The trivialest point, or you may lose your labor!
And yet there is in this no Gordian knot
Which one might not undo without a saber,
If one could merely comprehend the plot.
Enwritten upon the leaf where now are peering
Eyes scintillating soul, there lie perdus
Three eloquent words oft uttered in the hearing
Of poets, by poets -- as the name is a poet's too.
Its letters, although naturally lying
Like the knight Pinto -- Mendez Ferdinando --
Still form a synonym for Truth. -- Cease trying!
You will not read the riddle, though you do the best you can do.





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