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Vocabulary words are underlined. Definitions appear at the end of the text.

  

For Annie


by Edgar Allan Poe
(published 1849)

  

Thank Heaven! the crisis --
    The danger is past,
And the lingering illness
    Is over at last --
And the fever called "Living"
    Is conquered at last.

Sadly, I know
    I am shorn of my strength,
And no muscle I move
    As I lie at full length --
But no matter! -- I feel
    I am better at length.

And I rest so composedly,
    Now, in my bed,
That any beholder
    Might fancy me dead --
Might start at beholding me,
    Thinking me dead.

The moaning and groaning,
    The sighing and sobbing,
Are quieted now,
    With that horrible throbbing
At heart: -- ah, that horrible,
    Horrible throbbing!

The sickness -- the nausea --
    The pitiless pain --
Have ceased, with the fever
    That maddened my brain --
With the fever called "Living"
    That burned in my brain.

And oh! of all tortures
    That torture the worst
Has abated -- the terrible
    Torture of thirst
For the naphthaline river
    Of Passion accurst: --
I have drank of a water
    That quenches all thirst: --

Of a water that flows,
    With a lullaby sound,
From a spring but a very few
    Feet under ground --
From a cavern not very far
    Down under ground.

And ah! let it never
    Be foolishly said
That my room it is gloomy
    And narrow my bed;
For man never slept
    In a different bed --
And, to sleep, you must slumber
    In just such a bed.

My tantalized spirit
    Here blandly reposes,
Forgetting, or never
    Regretting its roses --
Its old agitations
    Of myrtles and roses:

For now, while so quietly
    Lying, it fancies
A holier odor
    About it, of pansies --
A rosemary odor,
    Commingled with pansies --
With rue and the beautiful
    Puritan pansies.

And so it lies happily,
    Bathing in many
A dream of the truth
    And the beauty of Annie --
Drowned in a bath
    Of the tresses of Annie.

She tenderly kissed me,
    She fondly caressed,
And then I fell gently
    To sleep on her breast --
Deeply to sleep
    From the heaven of her breast.

When the light was extinguished,
    She covered me warm,
And she prayed to the angels
    To keep me from harm --
To the queen of the angels
    To shield me from harm.

And I lie so composedly,
    Now in my bed,
(Knowing her love)
    That you fancy me dead --
And I rest so contentedly,
    Now in my bed,
(With her love at my breast)
    That you fancy me dead --
That you shudder to look at me,
    Thinking me dead: --

But my heart it is brighter
    Than all of the many
Stars in the sky,
    For it sparkles with Annie --
It glows with the light
    Of the love of my Annie --
With the thought of the light
    Of the eyes of my Annie.

Vocabulary Words

  

naphthaline:The modern spelling is naphthalene. A white solid with a strong smell; is also called mothballs, moth flakes, white tar, and tar camphor. Naphthalene is a natural component of fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal.

In humans, exposure to large amounts of naphthalene may damage or destroy red blood cells. Some of the symptoms of this condition are fatigue, lack of appetite, restlessness, and pale skin.

Rue:1. Sorrow, remorse, or regret

2. The french word for "Street". "Rue Morgue" would then be translated as "Morgue Street".

3. Genus of about 40 species of perennial shrubs and strongly aromatic herbs. The leaves have been used for centuries in traditional medicines.



 

naphthaline:
The modern spelling is naphthalene. A white solid with a strong smell; is also called mothballs, moth flakes, white tar, and tar camphor. Naphthalene is a natural component of fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal.

In humans, exposure to large amounts of naphthalene may damage or destroy red blood cells. Some of the symptoms of this condition are fatigue, lack of appetite, restlessness, and pale skin.
Rue:
1. Sorrow, remorse, or regret

2. The french word for "Street". "Rue Morgue" would then be translated as "Morgue Street".

3. Genus of about 40 species of perennial shrubs and strongly aromatic herbs. The leaves have been used for centuries in traditional medicines.