A Song Of Other Days

As o'er the glacier's frozen sheet     Breathes soft the Alpine rose,     So through life's desert springing sweet     The flower of friendship grows;     And as where'er the roses grow     Some rain or dew descends,     'T is nature's law that wine should flow     To wet the lips of friends.     Then once again, before we part,     My empty glass shall ring;     And he that has the warmest heart     Shall loudest laugh and sing.     They say we were not born to eat;     But gray-haired sages think     It means, Be moderate in your meat,     And partly live to drink.     For baser tribes the rivers flow     That know not wine or song;     Man wants but little drink below,     But wants that little strong.     Then once again, etc.     If one bright drop is like the gem     That decks a monarch's crown,     One goblet holds a diadem     Of rubies melted down!     A fig for Caesar's blazing brow,     But, like the Egyptian queen,     Bid each dissolving jewel glow     My thirsty lips between.     Then once again, etc.     The Grecian's mound, the Roman's urn,     Are silent when we call,     Yet still the purple grapes return     To cluster on the wall;     It was a bright Immortal's head     They circled with the vine,     And o'er their best and bravest dead     They poured the dark-red wine.     Then once again, etc.     Methinks o'er every sparkling glass     Young Eros waves his wings,     And echoes o'er its dimples pass     From dead Anacreon's strings;     And, tossing round its beaded brim     Their locks of floating gold,     With bacchant dance and choral hymn     Return the nymphs of old.     Then once again, etc.     A welcome then to joy and mirth,     From hearts as fresh as ours,     To scatter o'er the dust of earth     Their sweetly mingled flowers;     'T is Wisdom's self the cup that fills     In spite of Folly's frown,     And Nature, from her vine-clad hills,     That rains her life-blood down!     Then once again, before we part,     My empty glass shall ring;     And he that has the warmest heart     Shall loudest laugh and sing.