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A dark unfathom’d tide
Of interminable pride —
A mystery, and a dream,
Should my early life seem; [page 30:]
I say that dream was fraught
With a wild, and waking thought
Of beings that have been,
Which my spirit hath not seen, [[.]]
Had I let them pass me by,
With a dreaming eye!
Let none of earth inherit
That vision on [[of]] my spirit;
Those thoughts I would controul, [[control]]
As a spell upon his soul:
For that bright hope at last
And that light time have past,
And my worldly rest hath gone
With a sight [[sigh]] as it pass’d on,
I care not tho’ it perish
With a thought I then did cherish, [[.]]
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Notes:
The imitation is of Byron, especially his poems “Dream” and “Manfred.”
Most scholars consider this poem an early version of “A Dream Within a Dream,” although it was first revised as “To —”. As such, it provides an unsual example of a work heavily revised by Poe over his entire lifetime.
The original text is riddled with typographical errors, suggesting that Poe did not have the opportunity to see this poem in proof.
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[S:2 - TAOP, 1827 (fac, 1941)] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Poems - Imitation (Text-A)