Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Poem
March 7, 1854
The Camden Weekly Journal
Camden, Kershaw County, South Carolina
What is this article about?
A temperance poem by Francis Dana Gage refusing offers of wine, haunted by childhood memories of her mother's agony and father's ruin due to alcohol's destructive power, invoking divine insight into its harms.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
Poetry.
PLEDGE ME WITH WINE NO MORE.
BY FRANCIS DANA GAGE.
Try—Oh! Woodman, spare that tree.
Pledge me with wine no more!
I would not touch that cup
If it were brimming o'er
With diamonds in each drop.
I learned its withering spell
In childhood's sunny hour,
When my loved mother fell
Beneath its tyrant power.
Can I forget her woe,
Her agony and tears,
Her 'fainting step and slow,'
Thro' long and weary years?
My father drained that cup;
Its brand is on my brow;
In it died love and hope,
And I am orphaned now.
Oh! will ye bid me drink—
And rouse the slumbering fire,
Kindled ere life began,
By my fond erring sire?
Fires burning even now—
Within my aching breast,
Take hence your tempting cup,
And let my soul find rest.
Oh, God! will men ne'er learn
Its power to crush the strong,
And lead the wise, the good, the great,
To crime and shame and wrong?
Pledge me with wine no more!
I would not touch that cup
If it were brimming o'er
With diamonds in each drop.
PLEDGE ME WITH WINE NO MORE.
BY FRANCIS DANA GAGE.
Try—Oh! Woodman, spare that tree.
Pledge me with wine no more!
I would not touch that cup
If it were brimming o'er
With diamonds in each drop.
I learned its withering spell
In childhood's sunny hour,
When my loved mother fell
Beneath its tyrant power.
Can I forget her woe,
Her agony and tears,
Her 'fainting step and slow,'
Thro' long and weary years?
My father drained that cup;
Its brand is on my brow;
In it died love and hope,
And I am orphaned now.
Oh! will ye bid me drink—
And rouse the slumbering fire,
Kindled ere life began,
By my fond erring sire?
Fires burning even now—
Within my aching breast,
Take hence your tempting cup,
And let my soul find rest.
Oh, God! will men ne'er learn
Its power to crush the strong,
And lead the wise, the good, the great,
To crime and shame and wrong?
Pledge me with wine no more!
I would not touch that cup
If it were brimming o'er
With diamonds in each drop.
What sub-type of article is it?
Song
What themes does it cover?
Temperance Moderation
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Temperance
Wine
Alcoholism
Mother
Father
Pledge
Abstinence
Moral Reform
What entities or persons were involved?
By Francis Dana Gage.
Poem Details
Title
Pledge Me With Wine No More.
Author
By Francis Dana Gage.
Subject
Refusal Of Wine Due To Family Alcoholism
Form / Style
Rhymed Quatrains
Key Lines
Pledge Me With Wine No More!
I Would Not Touch That Cup
If It Were Brimming O'er
With Diamonds In Each Drop.
I Learned Its Withering Spell
In Childhood's Sunny Hour,
When My Loved Mother Fell
Beneath Its Tyrant Power.
Oh, God! Will Men Ne'er Learn
Its Power To Crush The Strong,
And Lead The Wise, The Good, The Great,
To Crime And Shame And Wrong?