Come, send round the wine, and leave points of belief <br />To simpleton sages and reasoning fools; <br />This moment's a flower too fair and brief <br />To be wither'd and stain'd by the dust of the schools. <br />Your glass may be purple, and mine may be blue, <br />But, while they are fill'd from the same bright bowl, <br />The fool who would quarrel for difference of hue, <br />Deserves not the comfort they shed o'er the soul. <br /> <br />Shall I ask the brave soldier, who fights by my side <br />In the cause of mankind, if our creeds agree? <br />Shall I give up the friend I have valued and tried, <br />If he kneel not before the same altar with me? <br />From the heretic girl of my soul should I fly? <br />To seek somewhere else a more orthodox kiss? <br />No, perish the hearts, and the laws that try <br />Truth, valour, or love, by a standard like this!<br /><br />Thomas Moore<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/come-send-round-the-wine/
