Classic Poem

Are you sleeping, little brother,
In the room that once was mine,
Where the night winds sing in summer
Haunting legends of the Rhine?
Does the aspen by the window
Whisper still of high desire,
Of the tread of Roman legions
And the purple pride of Tyre?
On that little iron bedstead,
Where I've lain so many a night,
Good for vanquished knights, or Caesar
When the Gauls are put to flight,
Are you sleeping, little brother?

Are you dreaming, little brother,
Olden dreams that once were mine,
Glorious dreams of kingdom-sacking
Where the tropic planets shine?
Do those dreams still dwell, I wonder,
In that little attic room,
Do they steal and take you captive
To far lands of Orient bloom?
Of the camps toward the sunset,
Of the warships on the blue,
Of the queens and of the kingdoms
Waiting, somewhere, just for you
Are you dreaming, little brother?

Are you loving, little brother,
As another used to do,
Just the rose because it's crimson,
Just the sky because it's blue?
Does your heart near burst with loving
When you hear the larks at morn,
And you see the dew a-glisten
On the tassels of the corn?
One who never took a kingdom,
One whose knightly dreams are fled,
One whose coward lance has rusted
Since his heart was broke and bled,
Could you love him, little brother?