Following up on Dave’s post re: Edgar Allan Poe, I thought you might be interested in one of Lovecraft’s tributes to the author.
The poem was inspired by the cemetery at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Providence, Rhode Island, a setting both men loved. Below are some of the pictures I took there during my Lovecraftian walking tour.
“In a Sequester’d Providence Churchyard Where Once Poe Walk’d”
by H.P. Lovecraft
Eternal brood the shadows on this ground,
Dreaming of centuries that have gone before;
Great elms rise solemnly by slab and mound,
Arched high above a hidden world of yore.
Round all the scene a light of memory plays,
And dead leaves whisper of departed days,
Longing for sights and sounds that are no more.
Lonely and sad, a specter glides along
Aisles where of old his living footsteps fell;
No common glance discerns him, though his song
Peals down through time with a mysterious spell.
Only the few who sorcery’s secret know,
Espy amidst these tombs the shade of Poe.
You can view more pictures from my tour of Lovecraft’s Providence, including additional photos of the St. John’s churchyard, here.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Do we get points if we can find any specters in your pictures?
Nice poem by Lovecraft. A little bit reminiscent of The Raven in that first stanza.
Guess my glance must be common, because I could not espy the lonely and sad shade of Poe.
I don’t think that tree by the wall in the back of the second picture is an elm, however. Maybe an apple, or given the locale, a cherry. Any gardeners out there?
The only way I could tell if it was an apple tree was if I saw apples on it! No help from me in this department, Rocker. Sorry.
In case no one else noticed, Lovecraft’s poem is an acrostic, spelling out Poe’s full name.
Yes! Someone finally spotted it. Cheers to you, Donovan!
Well, I always knew about it, so it’s not as if I had any flash of insight. I just thought everyone would enjoy knowing it. Thanks, Amy!