Edgar Allan Poe - To HelenI saw thee once-once only-years ago; I must not...

To HelenI saw thee once-once only-years ago; I must not say how many-but not many. It was a july midnight; and from outA full-orbed moon, that, like thine own soul, soaring, Sought a precipitate pathway up through heaven, There fell a silvery-silken veil of light, With quietude, and sultriness, and slumberUpon the upturn'd faces of a thousandRoses that grew in an enchanted garden, Where no wind dared to stir, unless on tiptoe-Fell on the upturn'd faces of these rosesThat gave out, in return for the love-lightThier odorous souls in an ecstatic death-Fell on the upturn'd faces of these rosesThat smiled and died in this parterre, enchanted by thee, by the poetry of thy prescence. Clad all in white, upon a violet bank I saw thee half reclining; while the moonFell on the upturn'd faces of the rosesAnd on thine own, upturn'd-alas, in sorrow!Was it not Fate that, on this july midnight-Was it not Fate (whose name is also sorrow)That bade me pause before that garden-gate, To breathe the incense of those slumbering roses?No footstep stirred; the hated world all slept, Save only thee and me. (Oh Heaven- oh, God! How my heart beats in coupling those two worlds!)Save only thee and me. I paused- I looked-And in an instant all things disappeared.(Ah, bear in mind this garden was enchanted!)The pearly lustre of the moon went out; The mossy banks and the meandering paths, The happy flowers and the repining trees, Were seen no more: the very roses' odorsDied in the arms of the adoring airs. All- all expired save thee- save less than thou: Save only the divine light in thine eyes-Save but the soul in thine uplifted eyes.I saw but them- they were the world to me.I saw but them- saw only them for hours-Saw only them until the moon went down. What wild heart-histories seemed to lie enwrittenUpon those crystalline, celestial spheres!How dark a woe! Yet how sublime a hope!How silently serene a sea of pride!How daring an ambition!yet how deep-How fathomless a capacity for love!But now, at length, dear Dian sank from sight, Into western couch of thunder-cloud; And thou, a ghost, amid the entombing treesDidst glide away. Only thine eyes remained. They would not go- they never yet have gone. Lighting my lonely pathway home that night, They have not left me (as my hopes have) since. They follow me- they lead me through the years. They are my ministers- yet I thier slaveThier office is to illumine and enkindle-My duty, to be saved by thier bright light, And purified in thier electric fire, And sanctified in thier Elysian fire. They fill my soul with Beauty (which is Hope), And are far up in heaven- the stars I kneel toIn the sad, silent watches of my night; While even in the meridian glare of dayI see them still- two sweetly scintillantVenuses, unextinguished by the sun!

Edgar Allan Poe

;
To HelenI saw thee once-once only-years ago; I must not say how many-but not many. It was a july midnight; and from outA full-orbed moon, that, like thine own soul, soaring, Sought a precipitate pathway up through heaven, There fell a silvery-silken veil of light, With quietude, and sultriness, and slumberUpon the upturn'd faces of a thousandRoses that grew in an enchanted garden, Where no wind dared to stir, unless on tiptoe-Fell on the upturn'd faces of these rosesThat gave out, in return for the love-lightThier odorous souls in an ecstatic death-Fell on the upturn'd faces of these rosesThat smiled and died in this parterre, enchanted by thee, by the poetry of thy prescence. Clad all in white, upon a violet bank I saw thee half reclining; while the moonFell on the upturn'd faces of the rosesAnd on thine own, upturn'd-alas, in sorrow!Was it not Fate that, on this july midnight-Was it not Fate (whose name is also sorrow)That bade me pause before that garden-gate, To breathe the incense of those slumbering roses?No footstep stirred; the hated world all slept, Save only thee and me. (Oh Heaven- oh, God! How my heart beats in coupling those two worlds!)Save only thee and me. I paused- I looked-And in an instant all things disappeared.(Ah, bear in mind this garden was enchanted!)The pearly lustre of the moon went out; The mossy banks and the meandering paths, The happy flowers and the repining trees, Were seen no more: the very roses' odorsDied in the arms of the adoring airs. All- all expired save thee- save less than thou: Save only the divine light in thine eyes-Save but the soul in thine uplifted eyes.I saw but them- they were the world to me.I saw but them- saw only them for hours-Saw only them until the moon went down. What wild heart-histories seemed to lie enwrittenUpon those crystalline, celestial spheres!How dark a woe! Yet how sublime a hope!How silently serene a sea of pride!How daring an ambition!yet how deep-How fathomless a capacity for love!But now, at length, dear Dian sank from sight, Into western couch of thunder-cloud; And thou, a ghost, amid the entombing treesDidst glide away. Only thine eyes remained. They would not go- they never yet have gone. Lighting my lonely pathway home that night, They have not left me (as my hopes have) since. They follow me- they lead me through the years. They are my ministers- yet I thier slaveThier office is to illumine and enkindle-My duty, to be saved by thier bright light, And purified in thier electric fire, And sanctified in thier Elysian fire. They fill my soul with Beauty (which is Hope), And are far up in heaven- the stars I kneel toIn the sad, silent watches of my night; While even in the meridian glare of dayI see them still- two sweetly scintillantVenuses, unextinguished by the sun! Edgar Allan Poe

Related Topics

Keywords

heleni thee - -years ago july midnight outa full-orbed moon thine soul soaring sought precipitate pathway heaven fell silvery-silken veil light quietude sultriness slumberupon upturn' faces thousandroses grew enchanted garden wind dared stir tiptoe-fell rosesthat gave return love-lightthier odorous souls ecstatic death-fell smiled died parterre poetry thy prescence clad white violet bank half reclining moonfell rosesand upturn'd-alas sorrow fate midnight- bade pause garden-gate breathe incense slumbering roses footstep stirred hated world slept save heaven- god heart beats coupling worlds paused- looked- instant things disappeared ah bear mind pearly lustre mossy banks meandering paths happy flowers repining trees roses' odorsdied arms adoring airs expired thee- thou divine eyes-save uplifted eyes hours- wild heart-histories lie enwrittenupon crystalline celestial spheres dark woe sublime hope silently serene sea pride daring ambition deep- fathomless capacity love length dear dian sank sight western couch thunder-cloud ghost amid entombing treesdidst glide remained lighting lonely home night left hopes follow lead years ministers- thier slavethier office illumine enkindle- duty saved bright purified electric fire sanctified elysian fill beauty stars kneel toin sad silent watches meridian glare dayi sweetly scintillantvenuses unextinguished sun

Explore other Authors


If you are using this quote in any webpage , printmedia or any other places please use the following methods to cite this quotation.

MLA Style Citation
"A quote by Edgar Allan Poe" theysaidso.com, 2024. Mar 29, 2024. https://theysaidso.com/quote/edgar-allan-poe-to-heleni-saw-thee-once-once-only-years-agoi-must-not-say-how-ma
APA Style Citation
"A quote by Edgar Allan Poe" (n.d.). theysaidso.com. Retrieved Mar 29, 2024, from theysaidso.com web site : https://theysaidso.com/quote/edgar-allan-poe-to-heleni-saw-thee-once-once-only-years-agoi-must-not-say-how-ma
Chicago Style Citation
"A quote by Edgar Allan Poe". theysaidso.com, 2024. https://theysaidso.com/quote/edgar-allan-poe-to-heleni-saw-thee-once-once-only-years-agoi-must-not-say-how-ma , accessed Mar 29, 2024.

Comments

Authentication required

You must log in to post a comment.

Log in

There are no comments yet.