Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE OLD CASTLE ON THE HILL, by BORGHILD BREKKE ZANINI



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE OLD CASTLE ON THE HILL, by                    
First Line: Surrounded by poplars, it stands there still
Last Line: The night is gone, not a ghost remains.
Subject(s): Castles; Ghosts; Haunted Houses; Supernatural


Surrounded by poplars, it stands there still,
Lonely and spectral on its windswept hill;
'Tis an English castle of feudal days,
Its tenants long since gone their ways.
So stands that site of manifold deeds,
Its grounds covered with grass and weeds.

"The castle is haunted," people say,
They dare to pass it only by day.
And cross themselves as they scurry past,
As if that day would be their last.
From midnight till dawn, so tales are told,
Merriment reigns as in days of old.

Tapestries hang on the castle's walls,
Armor stands about its great halls;
At midnight the stairs creak and groan,
As if to answer the wind's whistling moan.
Ladies fair and cavaliers
Stir in their picturesque attire.

Behold! At the stroke of midnight,
From the old castle there beams a light!
Inside can be seen, on chest and chair,
Shadows of people who once lived there.
In the knight's hall, as the chimes die away,
The life in the castle has reached full sway.

So all through the long night they dance,
While moonbeams lend their air of romance.
But at the first streak of dawn, all disappear,
And nothing is heard but loud chanticleer.
In the old castle, silence reigns,
The night is gone, not a ghost remains.





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