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Poems (Henley)/Let us be drunk

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4685122Poems — Let us be drunkWilliam Ernest Henley
To F. W.
Let us be drunk, and for a while forget,Forget, and, ceasing even from regret,Live without reason and despite of rhyme,As in a dream preposterous and sublime,Where place and hour and means for once are met.
Where is the use of effort? Love and debtAnd disappointment have us in a net.Let us break out, and taste the morning prime . . .       Let us be drunk.
In vain our little hour we strut and fret,And mouth our wretched parts as for a bet:We cannot please the tragicaster Time.To gain the crystal sphere, the silver clime,Where Sympathy sits dimpling on us yet,       Let us be drunk!