Edgar Allan Poe | To One Departed
Edgar Allan Poe is poet who, despite his tendency toward dark subjects as his most well-known poems like “The Raven” or “The Bells” suggest, is recognized among the greatest of poets — oft recited, studied, and imitated. As I was perusing a catalogue of Poe’s works, I came across the following poem that speaks about the death of a loved one. Some commentators specifically suggest it is a woman whom Poe cared for and likened to an angel (or seraph) amidst his dark nature. To those who have lost someone truly dear, the poem speaks beautifully of the continuing memory and relationship between the speaker and the one departed.
To One Departed
Seraph! thy memory is to me
Like some enchanted far-off isle
In some tumultuous sea -
Some ocean vexed as it may be
With storms; but where, meanwhile,
Serenest skies continually
Just o’er that one bright island smile.
For ‘mid the earnest cares and woes
That crowd around my earthly path,
(Sad path, alas, where grows
Not even one lonely rose!)
My soul at least a solace hath
In dreams of thee; and therein knows
An Eden of bland repose.
–Edgar Allan Poe
