THE WINE OF NIGHT
Reading edition
BY LOUIS UNTERMEYER
COME, drink the mystic wine of Night, Brimming with silence and the stars; While earth, bathed in this holy light, Is seen without its scars. Drink in the daring and the dews, The calm winds and the restless gleam— This is the draught that Beauty brews; Drink—it is the Dream.... Drink, oh my soul, and do not yield— These solitudes, this wild-rose air Shall strengthen thee, shall be thy shield Against the world’s despair. Oh, quaff this stirrup-cup of stars Trembling with hope and high desire— Then back into the hopeless wars With faith and fire!