Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, IF, by EDWARD JAMES MORTIMER COLLINS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

IF, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: If life were never bitter
Last Line: And wine were always iced.
Alternate Author Name(s): Collins, Mortimer
Subject(s): Happiness; Life; Love; Joy; Delight


IF life were never bitter,
And love were always sweet,
Then who would care to borrow
A moral from to-morrow --
If Thames would always glitter,
And joy would ne'er retreat,
If life were never bitter,
And love were always sweet!

If care were not the waiter
Behind a fellow's chair,
When easy-going sinners
Sit down to Richmond dinners,
And life's swift stream flows straighter,
By Jove, it would be rare,
If care were not the waiter
Behind a fellow's chair.

If wit were always radiant,
And wine were always iced,
And bores were kicked out straightway
Through a convenient gateway;
Then down the year's long gradient
'Twere sad to be enticed,
If wit were always radiant,
And wine were always iced.





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