My Castle

�I have a beautiful castle,
With towers and battlements fair;
And many a banner, with gay device,
Floats in the outer air.

�The walls are of solid silver;
The towers are of massive gold;
And the lights that stream from the windows
A royal scene unfold.

�Ah! could you but enter my castle,
With its pomp of regal sheen,
You would say that it far surpasses
The Palace of Aladeen;�

�Could you but enter as I do,
And pace through the vaulted hall,
And mark the stately columns,
And the pictures on the wall;�

�With the costly gems about them,
That send their light afar,
With a chaste and softened splendor,
Like the light of a distant star!�

�And where is this wonderful castle,
With its rich emblazonings,
Whose pomp so far surpasses
The homes of the greatest kings?�

�Come out with me at morning,
And lie in the meadow-grass,
And lift your eyes to the ether blue,
And you will see it pass.

�There! can you not see the battlements;
And the turrets stately and high,
Whose lofty summits are tipped with clouds,
And lost in the arching sky?�

�Dear friend, you are only dreaming;
Your castle so stately and fair
Is only a fanciful structure,�
A castle in the air.�

�Perchance you are right. I know not
If a phantom it may be;
But yet, in my inmost heart, I feel
That it lives, and lives for me;�

�For, when clouds and darkness are round me,
And my heart is heavy with care,
I steal me away from the noisy crowd,
To dwell in my castle fair.

�There are servants to do my bidding;
There are servants to heed my call;
And I, with a master�s air of pride,
May pace through the vaulted hall.

�And I envy not the monarchs
With cities under their sway;
For am I not, in my own right,
A monarch as proud as they?

�What matter, then, if to others
My castle a phantom may be,
Since I feel, in the depth of my own heart,
That it is not so to me?�