A poem to spell, hear, and say
English ↔ NATO
A Dream Within a Dream · A spoken spelling edition
NATO alphabet edition: unreviewed project draft
Poe's 1849 poem spelled letter by letter in the NATO phonetic alphabet, officially the ICAO radiotelephony spelling alphabet: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie. Press Spell it out to hear every letter read as its code word, then learn the alphabet from the poem's own words.
The full poem as code words, with a credit line and draft status.
Radiotelephony · ICAO spelling
STANDBYPart one / The poem
The poem, line by line
Each line of Poe's text sits beside its spelling in code words. Select a numbered line to see a study note, or press ▶ to hear that line spelled out.
| Take this kiss upon the brow! | Tango Alfa Kilo EchoTango Hotel India SierraKilo India Sierra SierraUniform Papa Oscar NovemberTango Hotel EchoBravo Romeo Oscar Whiskey (exclamation mark) | ||
| And, in parting from you now, | Alfa November Delta (comma)India NovemberPapa Alfa Romeo Tango India November GolfFoxtrot Romeo Oscar MikeYankee Oscar UniformNovember Oscar Whiskey (comma) | ||
| Thus much let me avow — | Tango Hotel Uniform SierraMike Uniform Charlie HotelLima Echo TangoMike EchoAlfa Victor Oscar Whiskey (dash) | ||
| You are not wrong, who deem | Yankee Oscar UniformAlfa Romeo EchoNovember Oscar TangoWhiskey Romeo Oscar November Golf (comma)Whiskey Hotel OscarDelta Echo Echo Mike | ||
| That my days have been a dream; | Tango Hotel Alfa TangoMike YankeeDelta Alfa Yankee SierraHotel Alfa Victor EchoBravo Echo Echo NovemberAlfaDelta Romeo Echo Alfa Mike (semicolon) | ||
| Yet if hope has flown away | Yankee Echo TangoIndia FoxtrotHotel Oscar Papa EchoHotel Alfa SierraFoxtrot Lima Oscar Whiskey NovemberAlfa Whiskey Alfa Yankee | ||
| In a night, or in a day, | India NovemberAlfaNovember India Golf Hotel Tango (comma)Oscar RomeoIndia NovemberAlfaDelta Alfa Yankee (comma) | ||
| In a vision, or in none, | India NovemberAlfaVictor India Sierra India Oscar November (comma)Oscar RomeoIndia NovemberNovember Oscar November Echo (comma) | ||
| Is it therefore the less gone? | India SierraIndia TangoTango Hotel Echo Romeo Echo Foxtrot Oscar Romeo EchoTango Hotel EchoLima Echo Sierra SierraGolf Oscar November Echo (question mark) | ||
| All that we see or seem | Alfa Lima LimaTango Hotel Alfa TangoWhiskey EchoSierra Echo EchoOscar RomeoSierra Echo Echo Mike | ||
| Is but a dream within a dream. | India SierraBravo Uniform TangoAlfaDelta Romeo Echo Alfa MikeWhiskey India Tango Hotel India NovemberAlfaDelta Romeo Echo Alfa Mike (full stop) | ||
| I stand amid the roar | IndiaSierra Tango Alfa November DeltaAlfa Mike India DeltaTango Hotel EchoRomeo Oscar Alfa Romeo | ||
| Of a surf-tormented shore, | Oscar FoxtrotAlfaSierra Uniform Romeo Foxtrot (hyphen) Tango Oscar Romeo Mike Echo November Tango Echo DeltaSierra Hotel Oscar Romeo Echo (comma) | ||
| And I hold within my hand | Alfa November DeltaIndiaHotel Oscar Lima DeltaWhiskey India Tango Hotel India NovemberMike YankeeHotel Alfa November Delta | ||
| Grains of the golden sand — | Golf Romeo Alfa India November SierraOscar FoxtrotTango Hotel EchoGolf Oscar Lima Delta Echo NovemberSierra Alfa November Delta (dash) | ||
| How few! yet how they creep | Hotel Oscar WhiskeyFoxtrot Echo Whiskey (exclamation mark)Yankee Echo TangoHotel Oscar WhiskeyTango Hotel Echo YankeeCharlie Romeo Echo Echo Papa | ||
| Through my fingers to the deep, | Tango Hotel Romeo Oscar Uniform Golf HotelMike YankeeFoxtrot India November Golf Echo Romeo SierraTango OscarTango Hotel EchoDelta Echo Echo Papa (comma) | ||
| While I weep — while I weep! | Whiskey Hotel India Lima EchoIndiaWhiskey Echo Echo Papa (dash)Whiskey Hotel India Lima EchoIndiaWhiskey Echo Echo Papa (exclamation mark) | ||
| O God! Can I not grasp | OscarGolf Oscar Delta (exclamation mark)Charlie Alfa NovemberIndiaNovember Oscar TangoGolf Romeo Alfa Sierra Papa | ||
| Them with a tighter clasp? | Tango Hotel Echo MikeWhiskey India Tango HotelAlfaTango India Golf Hotel Tango Echo RomeoCharlie Lima Alfa Sierra Papa (question mark) | ||
| O God! can I not save | OscarGolf Oscar Delta (exclamation mark)Charlie Alfa NovemberIndiaNovember Oscar TangoSierra Alfa Victor Echo | ||
| One from the pitiless wave? | Oscar November EchoFoxtrot Romeo Oscar MikeTango Hotel EchoPapa India Tango India Lima Echo Sierra SierraWhiskey Alfa Victor Echo (question mark) | ||
| Is all that we see or seem | India SierraAlfa Lima LimaTango Hotel Alfa TangoWhiskey EchoSierra Echo EchoOscar RomeoSierra Echo Echo Mike | ||
| But a dream within a dream? | Bravo Uniform TangoAlfaDelta Romeo Echo Alfa MikeWhiskey India Tango Hotel India NovemberAlfaDelta Romeo Echo Alfa Mike (question mark) |
Part two / Learn with the poem
From hearing to understanding.
Learn the 26 code words from the letters this poem uses, practice by ear, and go at your own pace.
Learn the alphabet
Every letter, as the poem uses it
Select a letter to hear it. The underlined syllable carries the stress. The bar shows how often the letter appears in the poem.Digits, for reference
The poem has no numbers, but the same standard gives each digit a radio pronunciation. TREE, FIFE and NIN-ER keep three, five and nine from blurring into one another over a bad channel.
The ITU adopts the first international spelling alphabet, built on place names such as Amsterdam and Baltimore. Wartime Britain and America later use their own lists, such as Able, Baker, Charlie.
ICAO adopts a new list designed with the linguist Jean-Paul Vinay of the Université de Montréal, chosen to be recognizable to speakers of English, French and Spanish. Alfa and Juliett are already spelled to keep their sounds.
After complaints and tests with speakers of 31 nations, five words change, and the list takes effect on 1 March. It has not changed since.
Coca Charlie · Metro Mike · Nectar November · Union Uniform · Extra X-ray
Read and write
Spell anything
Type English to get code words, or type code words (Alfa Bravo, with / between words) to read them back.
Listen and spell
A word from the poem is read as code words. Type the word you hear.
Practice in either direction
Build a small vocabulary
How to practice
- Read or hear the code words and say the word before you reveal it.
- Find the word in the poem above and play its line.
- Switch direction and spell the word aloud yourself.
- Spell your own name, then a line of the poem, without looking.
These are study prompts, not a timed test. Clear and steady beats fast.
Hear another voice
Listen and watch
A voice for the poem.
No reviewed recording is available yet. The reading above uses your browser's built-in voice; a recording by a pilot, controller or radio operator would give the spelling its working rhythm.
Prepare an audio reading →See the performance.
Future recordings will include performer credits and captions or a transcript.
Prepare a video reading →Add your voice
Contribute to the poem.
Recordings and editions in any language or signal system are reviewed for editorial quality and permissions, and credit is kept.