For years thrice three, wise Horace said,

A poem rare let silence bind;

And love may ripen in the shade,

Like ours, for nine long seasons laid

In crypts and arches of the mind.

That right Falernian friendship old

Will we, to grace our feast, call up,

And freely pour the juice of gold,

That keeps life’s pulses warm and bold,

Till Death shall break the empty cup.