Annabelle Lee - A Romantic Necklace

I'm a huge Poe fan and have always loved the dark beauty of his poem, Annabelle Lee. So, it was with Poe and Annabelle in mind that I created this necklace.

The focal point is a gorgeous, large lucite rose mounted on an antiqued brass filigree. Below is a faceted, square early 1940's Czech crystal chandelier piece from an old chandelier warehouse (it has a few scratches, but it would be pretty unusual for something like this to be flawless, since it's well over 60 years old. From it hangs an antique luggage key and a wire-wrapped jet picasso Czech flower bead. The chain is antiqued brass, with a gunmetal accent chain. Along one side, two very pretty acrylic crystal and jet carved rounds lend asymmetrical interest. In the back, are three jump rings, with more little jet Czech flowers hanging from them, at approximately one-inch intervals. This makes the necklace adjustable. At it's shortest point, because of the gunmetal chain, it is just over 21 inches. All told, though, its length is 23 inches. It closes with a lobster claw clasp, and has a little "hand made" charm at the closure. You can find it at the Adorn Me jewelry store at Etsy.

Annabelle Lee
by Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love -
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulcher
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me
Yes! that was the reason
(as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we
Of many far wiser than we
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,
In the sepulcher there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.