O! shun the bowl-as thou wouldst leave <br />The poison'd spot where reptiles crawl; <br />Lest widow'd hearts for thee should grieve- <br />For thee untimely tears should fall. <br /> <br /> <br />Yea! thine may be the fearful lot <br />To prove, ere Time bath dimm'd thy brow, <br />A sire-and yet the witness not <br />Of them who weep his broken vow. <br /> <br /> <br />Hast thou a bride whose every sigh <br />Deep trembles with the joy it gives? <br />Hast thou a child whose meek mild eye <br />Lives in the light its father lives? <br /> <br /> <br />Then shun the bowl-the draught beware, <br />Whose smile but mocks the lips of men; <br />When foaming high with waters rare- <br />O never touch the goblet then!<br /><br />John Pierpont<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/hymn-179/
