Draft in the author’s style. This poem was written for Poet in Wonderland to sit beside the author’s own readings, and is waiting for the author’s review. The commentary is a working draft too.
Above the highest mountain, where the eagle dares not roam,
There floats a castle made of clouds, a soft and drifting home.
Its towers are of vapour, and its windows are of dew,
And its bridges are of rainbows, spun of every hue.
The queen who lives inside it wears a gown of silver rain,
And she scatters snowy blessings on the valley and the plain.
A little girl once dreamed of it, and she climbed a moonlit stair,
That was built of morning mist and woven out of air.
She knocked upon the cloud door, and it opened with a sigh,
And she found a hall of laughter, and a ceiling made of sky.
She stayed until the sunrise, then she waved and floated down,
With a raindrop in her pocket like a small and silver crown.
Poet in Wonderland · Hear it on the channel ↗
Commentary
A castle in the clouds is one of the most beloved dreams. This poem climbs to it on a stair of mist and finds not treasure, but laughter.
“Above the highest mountain, where the eagle dares not roam,” there floats “a castle made of clouds.” “Its towers are of vapour, and its windows are of dew,” and “its bridges are of rainbows.” The queen wears “a gown of silver rain” and “scatters snowy blessings on the valley and the plain.”
A little girl dreams of it and climbs “a moonlit stair” built of “morning mist.” The door opens “with a sigh,” and she finds “a hall of laughter, and a ceiling made of sky.” At sunrise she floats down “with a raindrop in her pocket like a small and silver crown.”