Lets face the facts, Poe isn't always the easiest person to understand and his lack of punctuation doesn't help! But hey, maybe if we take this step by step you can get it! Now, that would be a miracle.
all right, in the beginning he is talking about how completely
Different
he
is then everyone else.
He loves different things, enjoys different activities, and in general is just a weird guy. . .
Well anyway, he goes on and on in a beautiful poetic way about how unusual he is, until he gets to the line:
Then
- in my childhood - in the dawn
Of
a most stormy life -
Translation: In the beginning of his horrible life
Was
drawn from every depth of good and ill
The
mystery which binds me still
Translation: His life
was drawn from good and evil
Although the mystery
of life still puzzles him
From the torrent, or the fountain
Translation:
Examples that his life was drawn from.
From the red cliff of the mountain
Translation:
More examples of which his life was drawn.
From
the sun that 'round me roll'd
In
its autumn tint of gold
Translation: Another example
From
the lightning in the sky
As
it pass'd me flying by
Translation: Another Example
From
the thunder, and the storm
And
the cloud that took the form
(When
the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of
a demon in my view —
Translation: His life is taken from the thunder, the storm, and even a cloud that took the form of a demon when he looked up into the sky. However when others looked up they saw the sky was blue, as if Heaven was waiting for them.
CLICK
HERE FOR A LARGER EXPLANATION ON THE LAST LINE OF THE POEM!
If you have read some of the biography, you will see that this is almost like an autobiographical poem. Poe really was rather strange, and it seems as if he thought he knew what was going to happen to him for all he had done. But, this is just one of those things that one can have an opinion but never really know. . .
Okay,
Do you
get it now?!