TO TOUCH THE CUP with eager lips and taste, not drain it; To woo and tempt and court a bliss -- and not attain it; To fondle and caress a joy, yet hold it lightly, Lest it become necessity and cling too tightly; To watch the sun set in the west without regretting; To hail its advent in the east -- the night forgetting; To smother care in happiness and grief in laughter; To hold the present close -- not questioning hereafter; To have enough to share -- to know the joy of giving; To thrill with all the sweets of life -- is living. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IN HOSPITAL: 28. DISCHARGED by WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY INDIFFERENCE by GEOFFREY ANKETELL STUDDERT-KENNEDY BURNS by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER ON SEEING AN OFFICER'S WIDOW DISTRACTED - ARREARS OF PENSION by MARY BARBER IMPROVEMENT IN THE FORTIES by THOMAS BARNARD |