Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO - (1), by EDGAR ALLAN POE


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO - (1), by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Not long ago, the writer of these lines
Last Line: To where the prospect terminates -- thee only.
Subject(s): Holidays; Valentine's Day


Not long ago, the writer of these lines,
In the mad pride of intellectuality,
Maintained "the power of words" -- denied that ever
A thought arose within the human brain
Beyond the utterance of the human tongue:
And now, as if in mockery of that boast,
Two words -- two foreign soft dissyllables --
Italian tones, made only to be murmured
By angels dreaming in the moonlit "dew
That hangs like chains of pearl on Hermon hill,"
Have stirred from out the abysses of his heart,
Unthought-like thoughts that are the souls of thought,
Richer, far wilder, far diviner visions
Than even seraph harper, Israfel,
(Who has "the sweetest voice of all God's creatures,")
Could hope to utter. And I! my spells are broken.
The pen falls powerless from my shivering hand.
With thy dear name as text, though bidden by thee,
I cannot write -- I cannot speak or think --
Alas, I cannot feel; for 'tis not feeling,
This standing motionless upon the golden
Threshold of the wide-open gate of dreams.
Gazing, entranced, adown the gorgeous vista,
And thrilling as I see, upon the right,
Upon the left, and all the way along,
Amid empurpled vapors, far away
To where the prospect terminates -- thee only.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net