The Rose That Once Has Bloomed Forever

Better Be Jocund With The Fruitful Grape Than Sadden After None, Or Bitter, Fruit.

Old Khayyám, Say You, Is A Debauchee;if Only You Were Half So Good As He!he Sins No Sins But Gentle Drunkenness,great-hearted Mirth, And Kind Adultery.but Yours The Cold Heart, And The Murderous Tongue,the Wintry Soul That Hates To Hear A Song,the Close-shut Fist, The Mean And Measuring Eye,and All The Little Poisoned Ways Of Wrong.

But Helpless Pieces Of The Game He Plays Upon This Checker-board Of Nights And Days; Hither And Thither Moves, And Checks, And Slays, And One By One Back In The Closet Lays.

You Know, My Friends, With What A Brave Carouse I Made A Second Marriage In My House; Favored Old Barren Reason From My Bed, And Took The Daughter Of The Vine To Spouse.

I Can’t Reveal The Mystery To Either Saint Or Sinner; I Can’t State At Length What I’ve Said Curtly; I Achieve An Altered State That I Can’t Explain; I Have A Secret That I Cannot Share.