The Bewildered Guest
July 6, 2023From Generation to Generation
July 6, 2023If
YES, death is at the bottom of the cup,
And every one that lives must drink it up;
And yet between the sparkle at the top
And the black lees where lurks the bitter drop,
There swims enough good liquor, Heaven knows,
To ease our hearts of all their other woes.
The bubbles rise in sunshine at the brim;
That drop below is very far and dim;
The quick fumes spread, and shape us such bright dreams
That in the glad delirium it seems
As though by some deft sleight, if so we willed,
That drop untasted might be somehow spilled.
William Dean Howells
William Dean Howells (1837-1920) was an American author and literary critic who played a significant role in the development of American literature in the late 19th century. He is considered the father of American realism and his most famous works include "The Rise of Silas Lapham" and "A Hazard of New Fortunes." Howells was also a champion of many of his contemporary writers, including Mark Twain and Henry James.