Drinking Stars

Down in the soul’s wine cellars
The casks of virtue brood.
They’re aging through the centuries,
Like deep Alaskan crude.

The casks of sin, however,
Are daily tapped and flow,
Filling carafes, beakers, and jugs,
Giving each face a glow.

It’s quite a ways below ground,
The soul’s wine cellars dwell.
The casks of sin and virtue stand
So close, it’s hard to tell

Which, when you tap its fullness,
Comes spurting an arcing stream
Into a thimble or a cup,
Into this world or a dream.

But when he takes a sip,
God, the sommelier,
Knows at once the vintage broached
And tosses it away.

n

”Mark Jarman
May 2008

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

The Testament of Ann Lee Shakes with Conviction

Jibran Khan

The Shaker name looms large in America’s material history. The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts an entire…

Dilbert’s Wager

R. R. Reno

Niall Ferguson recently discussed his conversion to Christianity. He expressed hope for a Christian revival, which he…

The Real Significance of Moltbook

Thomas P. Harmon

Elon Musk thinks we may be watching the beginning of the singularity. OpenAI and Tesla AI designer…