Eldorado - Edgar Allan Poe

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Flag of Our Union (Boston)
April 21, 1849
Eldorado
by Edgar Allan Poe

   Gaily bedight,
   A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
   Had journeyed long,
   Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.

   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 Eldorado.

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

"Over the Mountains
   Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
   Ride, boldly ride,"
   The shade replied—
"If you seek for Eldorado!"

-The End-

[Poe also mentions Eldorado in "Introduction [Romance]" and "Dream-Land." In rhyming "Eldorado" and "shadow," one must remember that Poe likely had a slight Southern drawl, even after years of living in more Northern climes.]