"What shall I wish you Robbie Croll— A girl, a book, or wine? For sages tell, who these control Shall taste of the divine.A star-eyed girl—a mouth of rose To kiss and cling and sigh, The houri Moslem heaven bestows When true believers die?A book of song, of youth and love, And joy refined by pain— That breathes of beauty gone above Ere Time could Love arraign?Or purple wine that holds the fire Flung by enamoured suns, That thrills the blood, and stirs the lyre, And sybils makes of nuns?Yea, take them all, the book and girl— But stint the luring cup, For there, like Cleopatra's pearl, My soul has shrivelled up."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Verses sent to R. C. Croll from a country school (Tragowel) in December, 1911, "as a kind of Christmas greeting"; quoted in Croll's memoir I Recall: Collections and Recollections (1939) ch. 9
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Frank_S._Williamson
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Frank S. Williamson
Francis Samuel Williamson (18 January 1865 – 6 February 1936) was an Australian poet who was published under the name Frank S. Williamson.
1 quote on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Frank S. Williamson →
Related Quotes
"Proud Queen of isles! Thou sittest vast, alone, A host of vassals bending round thy throne: Like some fair swan that …"
"And, oh Britannia! should'st thou cease to ride Despotic Empress of old Ocean's tide;— Should thy tam'd Lion—spent hi…"
"One flower is always best; And, hidden near the nest, One bird of all the brood Will sanctify the wood."
"The popular idea of an advocate of women's rights is this:—she is an angular hard-featured withered creature with a s…"
"The cruel girls we loved Are over forty. Their subtle daughters Have stolen their beauty; And with a blue stare Of co…"
"She trips along the street, a flashing wonder, Dazzling enigma! Courtesan or maid? Temple of chastity, or hall of tra…"
"And Anzac now is an enchanted shore;A tragic splendor, and a holy name;A deed eternity will still acclaim;A loss that…"
"The workers of Kembla, those leaders of men, Those leaders of deed as in thought. They challenged the might of the po…"
"Everyone agreed that the day was just right for the picnic to — a shimmering summer morning warm and still, with s sh…"