Isabella

It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of Isabella. And this maiden, she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me. I was a child and she was a child, In this kingdom by the sea; But we loved with a love that was more than love-- I and my Isabella-- With a love that the winged seraphs in Heaven Coveted her and me. And this was the reason that, long ago, In this kingdom by the sea, A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling My beautiful Isabella; So that her high-born kinsmen came And bore her away from me, To shut her up in a cocoon, In this kingdom by the sea. The angels, not half so happy in Heaven, Went envying her and me-- Yes!--that was the reason (as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea) That the wind came out of the cloud by night, Chilling and killing my Isabella. But our love it was stronger by far than the love Of those who were older than we-- Of many far wiser than we-- And neither the angels in Heaven above, Nor the demons down under the sea, Can ever dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Isabella:-- For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Isabella; And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes Of the beautiful Isabella:-- And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my darling--my darling--my life and my bride, In her cocoon there by the sea-- In her tomb by the sounding sea.