Note: This poem is takes place against the background of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. You will understand it better if you have read that one.

~*~

O my dear! Fear not the black messenger,
He who comes shrouded under starless night,
Comes not with storm clipping his wings
To begrime thy pernicious plight.

I know the dread that haunted thy mind
The ebon fear that frighted thine eyes
Besieged in gore the livery, the chiseled livid beaks
Pierced cold blue cadavers on ruby-stained gleis.

But this macabre delight, only thy mind belieth
The perching passerine bringeth wise word on his wingside.
From the ornate halls of Odin's throne, he flieth, he flieth
Whispering secrets to the souls who pass over to the Other side.

I speak for I know, forsooth he rapped upon my sill's lattice.
When in my looking glass appeared the Leveller's grim visage,
Quoth the bird, “If thy plate is as clean as thy glass,
Fear naught in the afterlife, thou shalt have a safe passage.”

Each one of us hath within our breast a story waiting to be writ;
When thine ink spills and thou can no more thy journey scribe
The raven with his onyx feathered quill, on the yellow parchments of time,
Shall for thine anguished, amaranth atrium, a new beginning inscribe.

Wherefore my dear, in dreary December,
When on thy chamber door he comes tapping by
Fear not thy fate, for 'tis time to heal thy hurting heart
So with morrow on his glistening back, I begged him to fly.

When he perches on Pallas' sculpted bust
Listen, listen to his cras above thy chamber door
The wrong questions perchance to madness lead, but the right to soulful peace
And thou shalt suffer in my memory, nevermore, nevermore.

Love,
Your dearest lady Lenore.

~*~

A/N:

Phew! So that is done! That has to be the most difficult poem I wrote to date, partly because of the archaic language and partly because I wanted it to be decent enough to do justice to Poe, one of my favourite poets of all times.

This was written for the Thinky Ink Scriber's club and the prompt was Spilled Ink And Raven Feathers.

What was your own interpretation on reading the poem? If you have any criticism or suggestion, you are very welcome to express them below. Also, do you guys want a glossary of archaic terms to go with this, because I myself had a lot of difficulty with some words?

Please do vote if you liked this poem and want to read more like it!