I bring an unaccustomed wine 1
To lips long parching
Next to mine,
And summon them to drink;
Crackling with fever, they Essay,5
I turn my brimming eyes away,
And come next hour to look.
The hands still hug the tardy glass－8
The lips I would have cooled, alas－
Are so superfluous Cold－
I would as soon attempt to warm 11
The bosoms where the frost has lain
Ages beneath the mould－
Some other thirsty there may be 14
To whom this would have pointed me
Had it remained to speak－
And so I always bear the cup 17
If, haply, mine may be the drop
Some pilgrim thirst to slake－
If, haply, any say to me 20
"Unto the little, unto me,"
When I at last awake.
To lips long parching
Next to mine,
And summon them to drink;
Crackling with fever, they Essay,5
I turn my brimming eyes away,
And come next hour to look.
The hands still hug the tardy glass－8
The lips I would have cooled, alas－
Are so superfluous Cold－
I would as soon attempt to warm 11
The bosoms where the frost has lain
Ages beneath the mould－
Some other thirsty there may be 14
To whom this would have pointed me
Had it remained to speak－
And so I always bear the cup 17
If, haply, mine may be the drop
Some pilgrim thirst to slake－
If, haply, any say to me 20
"Unto the little, unto me,"
When I at last awake.
(F.126/J.132)
[1] unaccustomed wine:: uncommon poems; wine's figurative usage.
[2, 3] lips, parching, Next to mine:: her friends who seldom read poems.
[4] drink:: to absorb, enjoy.
[5] fever, they Essay:: they tried with excitement.
[6, 7] brimming eyes:: she was excited too.
[8] glass:: a spectacle.
[9] cooled:: refreshed.
[10] Cold:: without passion.
[12, 13] bosoms, Ages beneath the mould:: a heart in the dust for years.
[14–16] other thirsty, pointed me:: her friends said that there might exist other readers who can appreciate her poems.
[17] cup:: something to be partaken of, endured or enjoyed (OED 9).
[19] pilgrim:: one who seeks supremacy in literature.
[21] Unto the little:: people who knew little of her poems and wanted more.
[22] awake:: to rouse from an inactive state. She would become active after someone who can appreciate her poems.
