Classic Poem

I am the Princess Ilse
I dwell at Ilsenstein;
Come to my castle with me,
Bliss shall be thine and mine.

With water of my fountain
Will I bedew thy brow,
And thou shalt forget thy sorrows,
Poor boy, so care-sick now.

Upon my snowy bosom,
Locked in my arms of snow,
Thou shalt lie and dream of legends
And joys of long ago.

I'll kiss thee, and caress thee,
As oft I kissed of old
My lover, Kaiser Heinrich,
Who now lies stiff and cold.

The dead are dead for ever,
And only the living live!
My heart is leaping with laughter,
I've beauty and bloom to give.

Come 'neath the wave to my castle
Into my crystal hall;
There ladies and knights are dancing,
The squires are exulting all.

Rustles the silken garment,
Clatters the iron spur;
Gnomes fiddle, and play the trumpet,
Strike lute and dulcimer.

My arm shall cling around thee,
As round the Kaiser of yore,
His ears with my hands I covered,
When trumpets sounded for war.