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