Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, IF LIFE WERE A BANQUET, by JOSEPHINE AUGUSTA CASS



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

IF LIFE WERE A BANQUET, by                    
First Line: If life were a banquet, and beauty were wine
Last Line: And pure lips alone touch the chalice!
Subject(s): Wellesley College


IF Life were a banquet, and Beauty were wine,
And Being the cup to contain it,
What duty had man save at ease to recline,
Drink deeply, and never disdain it?
If Life were a banquet, and Beauty were wine,
And Being the cup to contain it!

If Life were a banquet, and Glory were wine,
And Pain were the strong bowl that held it,
Would any man pause ere he quaffed, or repine
At the cost, though his heart's blood had swelled it?
If Life were a banquet, and Glory were wine,
And Pain were the strong bowl that held it!

If Life were a banquet, and Love were the wine,
And pure lips alone touched the chalice,
What soul would refuse for a draught so divine,
To purge itself wholly from malice?
But Life is a banquet, and Love is the wine,
And pure lips alone touch the chalice!





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