I BUILT myself a castle, So noble, grand, and fair; I built myself a castle, A castle -- in the air. The fancies of my twilights That fade in sober truth, The longing of my sorrow, And the vision of my youth; The plans of joyful futures; So dear they used to seem; The prayer that rose unbidden, Half prayer -- and half a dream; The hopes that died unuttered Within this heart of mine; -- For all these tender treasures My castle was the shrine. I looked at all the castles That rise to grace the land, But I never saw another So stately or so grand. And now you see it shattered, My castle in the air; It lies, a dreary ruin, All desolate and bare. I cannot build another, I saw that one decay; And strength and heart and courage Died out the self-same day. Yet still, beside that ruin, With hopes as deep and fond, I waited with an infinite longing, Only -- I looked beyond. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BATTLE AUTUMN OF 1862 by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER EPIGRAM: 27. THE FRUIT by THOMAS WYATT POEM FOR PICTURE: TO A PORTRAIT BY EDWARD STEICHEN (RACHMANINOFF) by FRANK ANKENBRAND JR. VERSES TO SOME FRIENDS RETURNING FROM THE SEA-SIDE by BERNARD BARTON THE BRIDES' TRAGEDY: ACT 3, SCENE 2 by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES SUPPLIANT by KATHARINE BROWN BURT WRITTEN A FEW HOURS BEFORE THE BIRTH OF A CHILD by JANE CAVE |