Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ADOLPHUS BUSCH: AVE ATQUE VALE, by GEORGE SYLVESTER VIERECK


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ADOLPHUS BUSCH: AVE ATQUE VALE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: They brought his body to the shore
Last Line: Rose, spite that needle's eye, to god.
Subject(s): Alcoholism & Alcoholics; Beer; Busch, Adolphus (1839-1913); Business; Drinks & Drinking; Ale; Businessmen; Businesswomen; Wine


THEY brought his body to the shore
Across a thousand leagues of sea,
Like to some merchant prince of yore,
A master of the things that be.
Though vanquished in the final strife,
He was a victor, for he passed
Not the grim threshold till from life
He wrung its bounties to the last.
And gazing back upon his span
At eve, he saw and was content:
His day was worthy of a man,
A faithful steward's, wisely spent.
Death, though it slew him, left no sting:
He conquered fortune and he won
Men's hearts. Then, spare your tears, and bring
Bright garlands garnered in the sun!
Not downcast men nor gloomy thought,
But gladness and the song of birds,
The memory of his deeds well-wrought,
His gentle smile, his kindly words.
Great was his soul. He gave thereof,
He clung not to the golden clod
And, through the miracle of love,
Rose, spite that Needle's Eye, to God.






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