Edgar Allan Poe: Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

24. ELDORADO.

    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!'

1849