Classic and Contemporary Poetry
NILOTIC DRINKING SONG, by BAYARD TAYLOR Poet's Biography First Line: You may water your bays, brother-poets Last Line: And sing for the glory of ancient nilus! Alternate Author Name(s): Taylor, James Bayard Subject(s): Brooks; Drinks & Drinking; Silence; Singing & Singers; Streams; Creeks; Wine | ||||||||
I. You may water your bays, brother-poets, with lays That brighten the cup from the stream you doat on, By the Schuylkill's side, or Cochituate's tide, Or the crystal lymph of the mountain Croton: (We may pledge from these In our summer ease, Nor even Anacreon's shade revile us -- ) But I, from the flood Of his own brown blood, Will drink to the glory of ancient Nilus! II. Cloud never gave birth, nor cradle the Earth, To river so grand and fair as this is Not the waves that roll us the gold of Pactolus, Nor cool Cephissus, nor classic Ilissus. The lily may dip Her ivory lip To kiss the ripples of clear Eurotas; But the Nile brings balm From the myrrh and palm, And the ripe, voluptuous lips of the lotus. III. The waves that ride on his mighty tide Were poured from the urns of unvisited mountains; And their sweets of the South mingle cool in the mouth With the freshness and sparkle of Northern fountains. Again and again The goblet we drain, -- Diviner a stream never Nereid swam on: For Isis and Orus Have quaffed before us, And Ganymede dipped it for Jupiter Ammon. IV. Its blessing he pours o'er his thirsty shores, And floods the regions of Sleep and Silence, When he makes oases in desert places, And the plain is a sea, the hills are islands. And had I the brave Anacreon's stave, And lips like the honeyed lips of Hylas, I'd dip from his brink My bacchanal drink, And sing for the glory of ancient Nilus! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A CUP OF TREMBLINGS by JOHN HOLLANDER VINTAGE ABSENCE by JOHN HOLLANDER SENT WITH A BOTTLE OF BURGUNDY FOR A BIRTHDAY by JOHN HOLLANDER TO A CIVIL SERVANT by EDMUND JOHN ARMSTRONG WINE by FRIEDRICH MARTIN VON BODENSTEDT THE GOOD FELLOW by ALEXANDER BROME WHEN A WOMAN LOVES A MAN by DAVID LEHMAN BEDOUIN [LOVE] SONG by BAYARD TAYLOR NATIONAL ODE; INDEPENDENCE SQUARE, PHILADELPHIA by BAYARD TAYLOR |
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