At the last, tenderly,
From the walls of the powerful fortress‘d house,
From the clasp of the knitted locks, from the keep of the well-closed doors,
Let me be wafted.
Let me glide noiselessly forth;
With the key of softness unlock the locks – with a whisper,
Set ope the doors O soul.
Tenderly – be not impatient,
(Strong is your hold O mortal flesh,
Strong is your hold O love.)
Annabel Lee
No one knows who the real subject of Poe’s 1849 elegy is. Some have suggested it was written for his wife, some for a childhood