from The Bijou Literary Annual, 1828
author: By T.K. Hervey, Esq.
source date: 1828
edition published: 20170606
availability: Freely available via a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

The Bijou;
or Annual of Literature and the Arts

compiled by William Fraser
William Pickering London
1828
pp. 112-113

Anacreontic

By T.K. Hervey, Esq.

THE moon is forth! — and while the cars
Of night are out, we will not sleep,
Send round the bowl, and shew the stars
The vigils earthly spirits keep! —
And if the vines, in yonder sky,
Drop for their train such purple tears,
The poet's tale should be no lie,
Which paints them singing in their spheres!

Shall we, because Hope's fount is dry,
Shun every fount that soothes the soul? —
The pang that blights the heart and eye
Was never gathered from the bowl!
If looks be dim, that once were bright,
To weep will hardly make them brighter,
And if our hearts be far from light,
At least, we'll strive to make them lighter!

Fill high the glass! — to- night, we'll try,
For once, to make a truce with sorrow,
And they who think it wise to sigh,
May smile to- night — and sigh to- morrow; —
But we, who love the better mood,
To gather gladness where we may,
Will hail, across this purple flood,
The dawning of a brighter day.