SONG OF A FIEND .

See the Hell wine in the cup!
Blood and bitter mandrake blent;
Who will drink with me and sup?
Sniff the foul lees' putrid scent,
Here's to Hate and Discontent,
Who will sip it up?

Gall of toad and muck of stoat,
Brew it thick and make it strong,
Ooze and slime, where fungi bloat,
To its livid drops belong.
Drain its sweetness with a song.
Let it burn the throat.

Lethe's mire has dyed it most,
Vice has spat its cud within,
Every soul of Tophet's host
Stirs its cauldron's seething din,
With the spoon of Hell called Sin.
Pledge sin in a toast.

Here's to that which soon or late,
Turneth noble men to brutes,
Maketh vile what once was great.
Sip the nectar, thrum the lutes,
Rotting tree for rotten fruits,
Here's a toast to Hate!

Drink and drain, oh men of dust,
Fill the toxic tankard's brim,
Sin is sharp, it will not rust,
Howl the splendors of its hymn,
Hell will clutch ye, gaunt and grim
Ye who pledge to Lust.

Here's to that which gnaws unseen,
Thro' all flesh a path of blight,
Gloaming on the wench or queen,
Aiding crime to spoil and smite.
Grim at day and mad by night
Here's a health to Spleen!

Naught of pure on Earth is left.
Dead are Honor, Faith and Hope.
Sin is King, and men bereft
Perish by the axe and rope.
Drencht with night they dare not cope,
Here's a pledge to Theft.

See the black wine's bubbling flood,
Baâl can chuckle, Satan sneers,
Hell yawns drowsily in mud.
Tell me what on, Earth appears
Thus to cause our hoots and leers,
Men are pledging blood.

Here's to Love and spare the stink,
Gaudy flower with rot at core,
Blooming on Hell's very brink,
Mortals woo it, pray, implore,
Virgin-skinned and heart of whore,
Yet the world will drink.

Famished fiends of fire and slime,
Fill the awful bowl again;
Quick, be spry, another time,
Pour in Want and pour in Bane,
Here's to Passion and to Pain,
Devils! here's to Crime.

Fill again, men will not rest,
Blur with wine their arid eyes,
Sow the cancers in the breast,
Nearest where the heart-blood lies,
Teach fools how a leper dies,
Let them drink to Pest!

Make the fetid cauldron flow,
Murder reigns and men are slaves,
There is place for more below,
Make fresh wine and dig new graves,
Hear the bellowing crowd that raves,
Here's to War and Woe!

Search, I bid ye, pool and slough,
Pour the gall from adders' stings
In the wine, 'tis sour I vow,
By the lying tongue of kings,
Now we need more bitter things,
Men drink perjury now!

Here's to everything that's vile,
Envious critic, crafty priest,
Faithless friend and flatterer's wile,
Bite of snake and hoof of beast,
Last, but of the list not least,
Here's to woman's smile.

One more pledge, and drain it well,
Pour the nightshade in the bowl,
As our angry anthems swell,
Draw damnation to the soul,
Up! drink, drink the bitter whole,
Here's a pledge to Hell!