To R. A. M. S. - The Spirit Of Wine

The Spirit of Wine     Sang in my glass, and I listened     With love to his odorous music,     His flushed and magnificent song.     - 'I am health, I am heart, I am life!     For I give for the asking     The fire of my father, the Sun,     And the strength of my mother, the Earth.     Inspiration in essence,     I am wisdom and wit to the wise,     His visible muse to the poet,     The soul of desire to the lover,     The genius of laughter to all.     'Come, lean on me, ye that are weary!     Rise, ye faint-hearted and doubting!     Haste, ye that lag by the way!     I am Pride, the consoler;     Valour and Hope are my henchmen;     I am the Angel of Rest.     'I am life, I am wealth, I am fame:     For I captain an army     Of shining and generous dreams;     And mine, too, all mine, are the keys     Of that secret spiritual shrine,     Where, his work-a-day soul put by,     Shut in with his saint of saints -     With his radiant and conquering self -     Man worships, and talks, and is glad.     'Come, sit with me, ye that are lovely,     Ye that are paid with disdain,     Ye that are chained and would soar!     I am beauty and love;     I am friendship, the comforter;     I am that which forgives and forgets.' -     The Spirit of Wine     Sang in my heart, and I triumphed     In the savour and scent of his music,     His magnetic and mastering song.