John R. Thompson (1823–1873)

YES! fill the goblet high with generous wine,

As sparkling as the draughts of ancient Massic

Or old Falernian made by Horace classic,

Brought from the sunny valleys of the Rhine,

And throwing off their daughter’s brilliant glances,—

Just as the diamond, long obscured from sight,

With all the rays it last absorbed is bright,

This wine, as o’er the festal board it dances,

Gives back the flashes from the beaming eye

Of the brown vineyard beauty, on our meeting:

Fill up! to friends a kind, a cordial greeting,

And though December’s winds may rustle by,

And lead the howlings of the furious storm,

Our faces kindle and our hearts are warm.