"But I will dare,
With a goodly drought,
To drink and not spare,
Till my thirst be out.
"For as I quaff
The liquor cool,
I do not laugh,
Like a Christian fool;
"But my bosom fills,
And my faith is high;
Through the emerald hills
Goes my lightning eye.
"I see them hearken,
I see them wait;
Their light eyes darken
The diamond gate.
"I hear the float
Of their chant divine;
Each heavenly note
Mingles with mine.
"Can an evil thing
Make beauty more?
Or a sinner bring
To the heavenly door?
"'Tis the sun-rays fine
That sink in the earth,
And are drunk by the vine,
For its daughters' birth.
"And the liquid light,
I drink again;
And it flows in might
Through the shining brain,
"Making it know
The things that are
In the earth below,
Or the farthest star.
"I will not think
That the Prophet said,
Ye shall not drink
Of the flowing Red.