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June 30, 2010

Vintage

Draw deep into the well of your soul
pull me up some fine truth
a pittance ‘ere to drink, my friend


Dip the ladle far into the darkest fathoms
and dredge up a secret tale for me
to slake my thirst, so long sere and dry


Don’t be shy or stingy, my friend
for the sweetest wines lie in silent depths
and won’t be found by shallow tithing


Roll up your sleeves, bolster your courage
‘tis a fine deed, indeed, to lay draughts so dear
wither not, lest ye should come up wanting


Then tarry a moment ‘til I drink my fill
for it’s not by me that you’ll be forgotten
I’ve many a spirit to render unto ye


My ladle’s a bit rusty and the cup very small
but the handle’s long and sturdy and reaches far
the proof is the thing which intoxicates


The drink you’ll get, my friend, is a fine vintage
more precious than most, for it’s so rarely shared
I’ll wager you’ll not soon forget it’s taste


Together we’ll share our lives’ best pressings
we’ll toast each other, and others that we love
a noble, gentle thing that bides us well


Forget not our mothers and fathers before
their dreams became our histories
and we’d be naught without them


Raise a glass to family, both living and passed
not all cut from the same cloth, for sure
but each a part of the same, larger life quilt


And drink at the last to friends
those whom we choose to endear
and who forgive us our shortcomings in stride


Once more, we’ll tipple to each other
for, in this grand scheme, we know and understand
why we note our times and tides


At last, heads swimming, it’s time to go
we’ve drank the last drops tonight
and shall return to toast anew, my friend

21 comments:

  1. Glug glug glug... drank it in one go!!
    Good one, Eric! Some very fine thoughts in there... translated into the best of words too!
    "not all cut from the same cloth, for sure
    but each a part of the same, larger life quilt" -- really liked these lines a lot!! Very beautifully written..

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  2. Cheers. Yes, yours is perhaps a deeper draft but mine carries the blood depth of the passions of the heart.

    I loved this style. Fantastic work, my friend.

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  3. Sounds like tossing back a few with one's demon. Salud!

    Nice One Shot.

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  4. i like this Eric, but then I kind of like vintage, not to mention drinking songs. There's a real warmth to the words.
    Also loved your remark over at my place on the code--drubs--my son used to say 'glubs' for gloves all the time...

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  5. I hold my cup up to yours, for not lightly nor in passing this way in a poem such as this , has such a beautiful & profound compassion & gratitude expressed for those who walked before us , besides and will come after us, for the road is not always paved smoothly for any of us.

    cheers
    joanny

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  6. I need a good drink... nicely-wrought in my favourite free-verse structure- blank tercets...

    regards

    Luke @ WordSalad

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  7. Elusive and yet well remembered on some deep level.We do return and salute each other, and mystery-from time to time. I really like the long handled ladle! thanks.

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  8. An enjoyable toast Eric, well written as always.
    Thank you for suggesting I enter `A Whisper In The Darkness` into One Shot, I remembered hence I entered it. ;0]

    Anita.

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  9. ..the sweetest wines lie in silent depths..maybe it's just me - but what are you drinking here...? ähm - cheers my friend

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  10. I definitely want to have a drink after reading that. :o) It almost sounded like pirate speak (which I love) in places. Thanks for sharing on One Stop.

    Rhyme Me a Smile

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  11. I really liked the sentiment in this poem. This line "and who forgive us our shortcomings in stride" really resonates...Great work!

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  12. Salud, dinero y amor...y tiempo para gozarlo.

    To good health, wealth and love...and time in which to enjoy it.

    Cheers my friend. What a nice write.

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  13. Intoxicating "One Shot" Great poem, Eric. Think the lines that got me were "for it’s so rarely shared
    I’ll wager you’ll not soon forget it’s taste" Remembrance of things shared forms the basis of many fine memories. Cheers!

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  14. To health and family... and of course friends. Nice thoughts.

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  15. aye, a good deep drink from the well of soul. loverly write. Hope you make it home in one piece after one, two, thrice and more.
    Cheers!

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  16. A bit different from the past posts of yours that I was privileged to read.

    I love how your words flow.I don't think I can write this kind of poem.My english is too limited.

    Great post,Eric!

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