Anon with gaping fearlessness they quaff The dewy nectar with a natural thirst, Or wet their leathern lungs where cranberries lurk, With sweeter wine than Chian, Lesbian, or Falernian far. Theirs was the inward lustre that bespeaks An open sole -- unknowing to exclude The cheerful day -- a worthier glory far Than that which gilds the outmost rind with darkness visible -- Virtues that fast abide through lapse of years, Rather rubbed in than off. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TIME, REAL AND IMAGINARY; AN ALLEGORY by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE GEORGE MOSES HORTON, MYSELF by GEORGE MOSES HORTON MOLLY PITCHER [JUNE 28, 1778] by LAURA ELIZABETH HOWE RICHARDS DARWINISM by AGNES MARY F. ROBINSON BUDDHA AND BRAHMA by HENRY BROOKS ADAMS BALLAD by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH |