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THE ring is on my hand,
And the wreath is on my brow;
Satins and jewels grand
Are all at my command,
And I am happy now.
And my lord he loves me well;
But, when first he breathed his vow,
I felt my bosom swell —
For the words rang as a knell,
And the voice seemed his who fell
In the battle down the dell,
And who is happy now.
But he spoke to re-assure me,
And he kissed my pallid brow,
While a reverie came o’re me,
And to the church-yard bore me,
And I sighed to him before me,
Thinking him dead D’Elormie,
“Oh, I am happy now!”
And thus the words were spoken,
And this the plighted vow,
And, though my faith be broken,
And, though my heart be broken, [page 53:]
Behold the golden token
That proves me happy now!
Would God I could awaken!
For I dream I know not how,
And my soul is sorely shaken
Lest an evil step be taken, —
Lest the dead who is forsaken
May not be happy now.
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Notes:
It has been noted that this is a great rarity in Poe's works, for the speaker is a woman. Readers of this poem should also refer to Poe's earlier “Song.”
Griswold's version of the text is vitually identical to that published in The Raven and Other Poems (1845).
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[S:1 - WORKS, 1850] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Poems - Bridal Ballad (reprint)