The World－feels Dusty 1
When We stop to Die－
We want the Dew－then－
Honors－taste dry－
Flags－vex a Dying face－5
But the least Fan
Stirred by a friend's Hand－
Cools－like the Rain－
Mine be the Ministry 9
When they Thirst comes－
And Hybla Balms－
Dews of Thessaly, to fetch－
When We stop to Die－
We want the Dew－then－
Honors－taste dry－
Flags－vex a Dying face－5
But the least Fan
Stirred by a friend's Hand－
Cools－like the Rain－
Mine be the Ministry 9
When they Thirst comes－
And Hybla Balms－
Dews of Thessaly, to fetch－
(F.491/J.715)
[2] Die:: to desire.
[3] Dew:: fresh drop of liquid.
[4] Honors, dry:: seeking honors is bitter and austere.
[5] Dying:: exhausted.
[11] Thessaly:: a region of Greece, famous for wine and grain.
[12] Balms:: resinous plants, similar to resin as an ingredient for Greece wine.
In Thessaly . . . The wine is sweet, and would be good, but it is tainted with the disagreeable taste of pine resin, introduced with the notion of flavouring and preserving the wine; an ancient custom. ─ A History and Description of Modern Wine (1851)
The wine was like all the wine of Greece, mingled with resin, necessary, it is said, for its preservation, and stomachic, but disagreeable to foreigners. ─ Travels in Epirus, Albania, Macedonia, and Thessaly (1820)