The ancient Barbarossa By magic spell is bound, -- Old Frederic the kaiser, In castle underground. The kaiser hath not perished, -- He sleeps an iron sleep: For in the castle hidden He's sunk in slumber deep. With him the chiefest treasures Of empire hath he ta'en, Wherewith in fitting season He shall appear again. The kaiser he is sitting Upon an ivory throne; Of marble is the table His head he resteth on. His beard it is not flaxen: Like living fire it shines And groweth through the table Whereon his chin reclines. As in a dream he noddeth, Then wakes he, heavy-eyed, And calls, with lifted finger, A stripling to his side: -- "Dwarf, get thee to the gateway, And tidings bring, if still Their course the ancient ravens And wheeling round the hill. "For if the ancient ravens Are flying still around, A hundred years to slumber By magic spell I'm bound." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CHAMBER MUSIC: 33 by JAMES JOYCE CONTRA MORTEM: THE BEING by HAYDEN CARRUTH DRUMS AND BRASS by DONALD (GRADY) DAVIDSON I LOOKED FOR LIFE AND DID A SHADOW SEE by JAMES GALVIN CHERRY BLOSSOMS BLOWING IN WEST BLOWING SNOW by JAMES GALVIN SERVICE by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON UNDER THE CEDARCROFT CHESTNUT by SIDNEY LANIER |