| Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882). Complete Poetical Works. 1893. | | | | Birds of Passage | Flight the Third.
The Castle-Builder |
| | | A GENTLE boy, with soft and silken locks, | |
| A dreamy boy, with brown and tender eyes, | |
| A castle-builder, with his wooden blocks, | |
| And towers that touch imaginary skies. | |
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| A fearless rider on his father’s knee, | 5 |
| An eager listener unto stories told | |
| At the Round Table of the nursery, | |
| Of heroes and adventures manifold. | |
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| There will be other towers for thee to build; | |
| There will be other steeds for thee to ride; | 10 |
| There will be other legends, and all filled | |
| With greater marvels and more glorified. | |
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| Build on, and make thy castles high and fair, | |
| Rising and reaching upward to the skies; | |
| Listen to voices in the upper air, | 15 |
| Nor lose thy simple faith in mysteries. | | | | |
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