Classic Poem

Give me Homer's tuneful lyre,
Let the sound my breast inspire!
But with no troublesome delight
Of arms and heroes slain in fight:
Let it play no conquests here,
Or conquests only o'er the fair.
Boy, reach that volume—book divine!
The statutes of the god of wine!
He, legislator, statutes draws,
And I, his judge, enforce his laws,
And, faithful to the weighty trust,
Compel his vot'ries to be just.
Thus, round the bowl impartial flies
Till to the sprightly dance we rise:
We frisk it with a lively bound,
Charm'd with the lyre's harmonious sound,
Then pour forth with an heat divine
Rapturous songs that breathe of wine.