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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


SONG by EDWARD COATE PINKNEY

First Line: WE BREAK THE GLASS, WHOSE SACRED WINE / TO SOME BELOVED HEALTH WE DRAIN
Last Line: AND AIRY GEMS, -- THY WORDS.

WE break the glass, whose sacred wine
To some beloved health we drain,
Lest future pledges, less divine,
Should e'er the hallowed toy profane;
And thus I broke a heart that poured
Its tide of feelings out for thee,
In draught, by after-times deplored,
Yet dear to memory.

But still the old, impassioned ways
And habits of my mind remain,
And still unhappy light displays
Thine image chambered in my brain,
And still it looks as when the hours
Went by like flights of singing birds,
Or that soft chain of spoken flowers
And airy gems, -- thy words.



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