Neglected Genius A Poem. Illustrating the Untimely And Unfortunate Fate Of Many British Poets; From the Period of Henry the Eighth to the Aera of the Unfortunate Chatterton. Containing Imitations of their Different Styles, &c. &c. By W. H. Ireland |
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 | Neglected Genius |  |
FRIEND.
Flag not spirits, life is brief,
Let not sorrow prove time's thief;
Spurn fell sadness, cherish joy,
Live for Bacchus, rosy boy;
Thy brows with clust'ring grapes entwine,
Fill, fill; the goblet fill with wine.
LOVER.
Vainly wouldst thou have me quaff,
Mingling with the revel laugh;
Joy thou bidd'st me court in vain,
Link'd in sorrow's icy chain;
Dark cypress is the crown I wear,
And henbane's juice, the draught of care.
FRIEND.
If no Bacchanalian flood
Can inspire thy sluggard blood,
Come, and, fill'd with Venus' charms,
Sink enraptur'd in her arms;
And, with joys thine heart imbu'd,
Own 'twas love thy care subdu'd.
LOVER.
Why more deep implant the thorn,
Which my throbbing heart hath torn?
Absence is the source of grief,
Whence thou bidd'st me seek relief;
Wine can never chase my bane,
Love redoubles all my pain.
Flag not spirits, life is brief,
Let not sorrow prove time's thief;
Spurn fell sadness, cherish joy,
Live for Bacchus, rosy boy;
Thy brows with clust'ring grapes entwine,
Fill, fill; the goblet fill with wine.
37
Vainly wouldst thou have me quaff,
Mingling with the revel laugh;
Joy thou bidd'st me court in vain,
Link'd in sorrow's icy chain;
Dark cypress is the crown I wear,
And henbane's juice, the draught of care.
FRIEND.
If no Bacchanalian flood
Can inspire thy sluggard blood,
Come, and, fill'd with Venus' charms,
Sink enraptur'd in her arms;
And, with joys thine heart imbu'd,
Own 'twas love thy care subdu'd.
38
Why more deep implant the thorn,
Which my throbbing heart hath torn?
Absence is the source of grief,
Whence thou bidd'st me seek relief;
Wine can never chase my bane,
Love redoubles all my pain.
| Neglected Genius | |