To helen

"To Helen" is a poem by Edgar Allan Poe. It is about the ideal woman that can only exist by imagination. Poe originally wrote it about his friend's mother (her name is not Helen though). Poe uses an allusion to refer to Helen. Helen can refer to the Greek goddess of light or Helen of Troy who is considered to be the most beautiful woman ever alive. "To Helen"Helen, thy beauty is to meLike those Nicean barks of yoreThat gently, o'er a perfumed sea,The weary, way-worn wanderer boreTo his own native shore. On desperate seas long wont to roam,Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face,Thy Naiad airs have brought me homeTo the glory that was Greece,And the grandeur that was Rome. Lo, in yon brilliant window-nicheHow statue-like I see thee stand,The agate lamp within thy hand,Ah! Psyche, from the regions whichAre Holy Land! full article at wikipedia