DRINKING SONG
Thou who lov'st and art forsaken,
Didst believe and wert mistaken,
From thy dream thou wilt not waken
When Death thee shall call.
Like are infidel, believer,
The deceived, and the deceiver,
When the grave hides all.
What if thou be saint or sinner,
Crooked graybeard, straight beginner,—
Empty paunch, or jolly dinner,—
When Death thee shall call.
All alike are rich and richer,
King with crown, and cross-legged stitcher,
When the grave hides all.
Hope not thou to live hereafter
In men's memories and laughter,
When, 'twixt hearth and ringing rafter,
Death thee shall call.
For we both shall be forgotten,
Friend, when thou and I are rotten
And the grave hides all.
THE VOYAGER
I
"Friend, why goest thou forth
When ice-hills drift from the north
And crush together?"
"The Voice that me doth call
Heeds not the ice-hill's fall,
Nor wind, nor weather."
