TO JAMES CORRY, ESQ.,
ON HIS MAKING ME A PRESENT OF A WINE-STRAINER.
This life, dear Corry, who can doubt,
Resembles much friend Ewart's wine—
When first the rosy drops come out,
How beautiful, how clear they shine!
And thus, a while they keep their tint
So free from even a shade with some,
That they would smile, did you but hint,
That darker drops would ever come.
But soon the ruby tide runs short,
Each moment makes the sad truth plainer—
Till life, like old and crusty port,
When near its close, requires a strainer.
This friendship can alone confer,
Alone can teach the drops to pass—
If not as bright as once they were,
At least unclouded through the glass.
Nor, Corry, could a boon be mine,
Of which my heart were fonder, vainer,
Than thus, if life grew like old wine,
To have thy friendship for its strainer!
Thomas Moore.
Brighton, June, 1825.