A Tribute to Edgar Allen Poe

This poem is not mine.  I edited the conclusion of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Poetic Principle" to show people that didn't know that there was so much more to Poe than just the dark, suspenseful prose he wrote.  He was a genius, and most of his poetry and writing celebrated life and its beauty. 

"What the true poetry is...
(excerpt from Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Poetic Principle')

“…by mere reference to a few of the simple elements which induce

in the Poet himself

the true poetical effect.

“He recognizes the ambrosia which nourishes his soul,

in the bright orbs that shine in Heaven –

in the volutes of the flower –

in the clustering of low shrubberies –

in the waving of grain-fields –

in the slanting of the tall, Eastern trees –

in the blue distance of mountains –

in the grouping of clouds –

in the twinkling of half-hidden brooks –

in the gleaming of silver rivers –

in the repose of sequestered lakes –

in the star-mirroring depths of lonely wells.

“He perceives it in the songs of birds –

in the harp of Æolus –

in the sighing of the night-wind –

in the repining voice of the forest –

in the surf that complains to the shore –

in the fresh breath of the woods –

in the scent of the violet –

in the voluptuous perfume of the hyacinth –

in the suggestive odor that comes to him,

at eventide,

from far-distant, undiscovered islands,

over dim oceans, illimitable and unexplored.

“He owns it in all noble thoughts –

in all unworldly motives –

in all holy impulses –

in all chivalrous, generous, and self-sacrificing deeds.

“He feels it in the beauty of woman –

in the grace of her step –

in the lustre of her eye –

in the melody of her voice –

in her soft laughter –

in her sigh –

in the harmony of the rustling of her robes.

“He deeply feels it in her winning endearments –

in her burning enthusiasms –

in her gentle charities –

in her meek and devotional endurances –

but above all –

ah!  far above all –

“he kneels to it –

he worships it in the faith,

in the purity,

in the strength, in the altogether divine majesty –

of her love…”