Lines Inscribed Upon a Cup Formed From A Skull

[cluegirl.livejournal.com]

Start not -- nor deem my spirit fled:
In me behold the only skull,
From which, unlike a living head,
Whatever flows is never dull.

I liv'd, I lov'd, I quaff'd like thee:
I died: let earth my bones resign;
Fill up -- thou can's not injure me;
The worm hath fouler lips than thine.

Better to hold the sparkling grape,
Than nurse the earth-worm's slimy brood;
And circle in the goblet's shape
The drink of Gods, than reptiles' food.

Where once my wit, perchance, hath shone,
In aid of others' let me shine;
And when, alas! our brains are gone,
What nobler substitute than wine?

Quaff while thou canst: another race,
When thou and thine, like me, are sped,
May rescue thee from Earth's embrace,
And rhyme and revel with the dead.

Why not? since through life's little day
Our heads such sad effects produce;
Redeem'd from worms and wasting clay,
This chance is theirs to be of use.

Lord Byron

The funniest thing about this one is that he wrote it as an inscription for the actual cup, made from an actual skull which he dug up from the grounds at Newstead Abbey.

Comments

[mylastsuicide.livejournal.com]

"From which, unlike a living head,
Whatever flows is never dull."

This line is cute, and oh so true :)

[suebrenna.livejournal.com]

I love Lord Byron's poetry, thank you so much for sharing it with us. ;)