February 18, 2004

El Dorado

    Gaily bedight,
    A gallant night
    In sunshine and in shadow,
    Had journeyed long,
    Singing a song,
    In search of El Dorado.

    But he grew old --
    This knight so bold --
    And -- o'er his heart a shadow
    Fell as he found
    No spot of ground
    That looked like El Dorado.

    And, as his strength
    Failed him at length,
    He met a pilgrim shadow --
    "Shadow," said he,
    "Where can it be --
    This land of El Dorado?"

    "Over the Mountains
    Of the Moon,
    Down the Valley of the Shadow,
    Ride, boldly ride,"
    The shade replied --
    "If you seek for El Dorado."

[poem by Edgar Allen Poe, quoted by Mike Duffy in his high school yearbook]

Posted by bojon at February 18, 2004 02:15 AM