Poe: To F——s S. O——d

A poem.

Publisher’s Note: If you missed the news, I’m leaving Substack and closing down Edgar Allan Poe Fortnightly at the end of the month. This week, please enjoy a handful of poems that I haven’t shared yet.

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To F——s S. O——d (To Frances S. Osgood.)

Edgar Allan Poe

First published in 1835

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Thou wouldst be loved?—then let thy heart
        From its present pathway part not!
Being everything which now thou art,
        Be nothing which thou art not.
So with the world thy gentle ways,
        Thy grace, thy more than beauty,
Shall be an endless theme of praise,
        And love—a simple duty.

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The Final Month of Edgar Allan Poe Fortnightly:

This week: a selection of poems.

The week of 01/22: The Purloined Letter

01/29: a final poem.

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