IDREAM of the days of my childhood, And shake my silvery head. How haunt ye my brain, O visions, Methought ye forgotten and dead! From the shades of the forest uprises A castle so lofty and great; Well know I the battlements, towers, The arching stone-bridge, and the gate. The lions look down from the scutcheon On me with familiar face; I greet the old friends of my boyhood, And speed through the courtyard space. There lies the Sphinx by the fountain; The fig-tree's foliage gleams; 'Twas there, behind yon windows, I dreamt the first of my dreams. I tread the aisle of the chapel, And search for my fathers' graves— Behold them! And there from the pillars Hang down the old armor and glaives. Not yet can I read the inscription; A veil hath enveloped my sight, What though through the painted windows Glows brightly the sunbeam's light. Thus gleams, O hall of my fathers, Thy image so bright in my mind, From the earth now vanished, the ploughshare Leaves of thee no vestige behind. Be fruitful, lov'd soil, I will bless thee, While anguish o'er-cloudeth my brow; Threefold will I bless him, whoever May guide o'er thy bosom the plough. But I will up, up, and be doing; My lyre I'll take in my hand; O'er the wide, wide earth will I wander, And sing from land to land. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TO MY NINETH DECADE by WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR TO STATECRAFT EMBALMED by MARIANNE MOORE LAURENCE BLOOMFIELD IN IRELAND: 7. MIDSUMMER by WILLIAM ALLINGHAM EMBLEMS OF LOVE: 7. THE IMPOSSIBILITY by PHILIP AYRES LADY-SLIPPER by STELLA PFEIFFER BAISCH TO CHILDREN: 4. THE FAIRY REALM by WILLIAM ROSE BENET |