Anon with gaping fearlessness they quaff The dewy nectar with a natural thirst, Or wet their leathern lungs where cranberries lurk, With sweeter wine than Chian, Lesbian, or Falernian far. Theirs was the inward lustre that bespeaks An open sole -- unknowing to exclude The cheerful day -- a worthier glory far Than that which gilds the outmost rind with darkness visible -- Virtues that fast abide through lapse of years, Rather rubbed in than off. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IN THE HOME STRETCH by ROBERT FROST SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE, WAS CRUCIFIED, DEAD, AND BURIED by CECIL FRANCES ALEXANDER A DIVINE IMAGE, FR. SONGS OF EXPERIENCE by WILLIAM BLAKE THE DRUM by JOHN SCOTT (1730-1783) ON A GIFT OF FLOWERS by GUILLAUME VICTOR EMILE AUGIER A ROW IN AN OMNIBUS BOX; A LEGEND OF THE HAYMARKET by RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM |