Castles in the Air
by J Ballantine
here to listen to this in RealAudio read by Marilyn P Wright
This poem is a picture of a child gazing
into the fire, and seeing pictures in it. Robert Louis Stevenson
writes a poem in English about "Armies in the Fire".
bonnie bairn wha sits pokin' in the ase,
the fire wi' his wee round face.
the fuffin' lowe - what sees he there?
Ha! the young
dreamer's biggin' castles in the air.
His wee chubby
face and his touzie curly pow
and noddin' to the dancing lowe;
his rosy cheeks, and singe his sunny hair,
the imps wi' their castles in the air.
He sees muckle
castles towerin' to the moon;
He sees little
sodgers pu'in' them a' doun;
whommlin' up and doun, bleezin' wi' a flare, -
See how he
loups as they glimmer in the air!
For a' sae
sage he looks, what can the laddie ken?
upon naething, like mony mighty men:
A wee thing
mak's us think, a sam' thing mak's us stare -
There are mair
folk than him biggin' castles in the air.