What this grim, ungainly, ghastly,
Gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking “ Nevermore.”
This I sat engaged in guessing,
But no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now
Burned into my bosom’s core;
This and more I sat divining,
With my head at ease reclining
On the cushion’s velvet lining