Words

Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow —

You are not wrong, who deem

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone? 

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

Grains of the golden sand —

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep — while I weep!

O God! Can I not grasp

Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save

One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream?

 

-Edgar Allan Poe (A Dream Within A Dream)

When I was a seinior in High School we had to do a Poety project that consisted of: picking a poet, a slideshow of said poet's life, a paper, and finally a reciting and explanation of a memorized poem by said poet. I chose Edgar Allan Poe. (I received an A in case you were wondering) This was the poem I chose to memorize. I liked Mr. Poe for his short stories, but it was this poem that made me love him. Mr. Poe was married to his first cousin Victoria. She died of Tuberculosis. He was a crazy man with a lot of problems, but he loved his wife and mourned her death. I did not realize then what an impact this poem would have on me years later as I struggled with finding words for my  feelings day's and weeks after losing Jaxsyn. So thank you Mr. Poe for words.