A Cup Of Tea Poem by James Whitcomb Riley

A Cup Of Tea

Rating: 2.9


I have sipped, with drooping lashes,
Dreamy draughts of Verzenay;
I have flourished brandy-smashes
In the wildest sort of way;
I have joked with 'Tom and Jerry'
Till wee hours ayont the twal'--
But I've found my tea the very
Safest tipple of them all!

'Tis a mystical potation
That exceeds in warmth of glow
And divine exhilaration
All the drugs of long ago--
All of old magicians' potions--
Of Medea's filtered spells--
Or of fabled isles and oceans
Where the Lotos-eater dwells!

Though I've reveled o'er late lunches
With _blase_ dramatic stars,
And absorbed their wit and punches
And the fumes of their cigars--
Drank in the latest story,
With a cock-tail either end,--
I have drained a deeper glory
In a cup of tea, my friend.

Green, Black, Moyune, Formosa,
Congou, Amboy, Pingsuey--
No odds the name it knows--ah!
Fill a cup of it for me!
And, as I clink my china
Against your goblet's brim,
My tea in steam shall twine a
Fragrant laurel round its rim.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Meera Panigrahi 15 September 2012

My tea in steam shall twine a Fragrant laurel round its rim. So many things can be written around a cup of tea!

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Connie Yost 02 May 2014

Ah, a perfect cup of tea! Our friend Mr. Riley might have thought a tea bag just too handee fer makin' an acceptable cup a tea!

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Edward Kofi Louis 08 May 2017

Till wee hours! ! Thanks for sharing.

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Rajnish Manga 08 May 2017

To me it's an amazing ode to an invigorating cup of tea in its various sips and tastes. Thanks. But I've found my tea the very Safest tipple of them all!

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Tom Allport 08 May 2017

a poem that I will willingly raise my cup too and happily say cheers to what is by far the best brew? , ..., , ......well written.

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Ratnakar Mandlik 08 May 2017

The virtues of a cup of tea glorified, my be, by an addict of tea.

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Bernard F. Asuncion 08 May 2017

Divine exhilaration...... thanks for posting......

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Kayode Are 08 May 2017

Much ado about tea. Glorious.

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Savita Tyagi 08 May 2017

I have sat in my backyard, on my favorite chair, on my bed and against warm sunshine with a steaming cup of tea. Just lately I discovered the tropical wine tea thanks to my recent trip to India. Loved the poem. Thanks for sharing.

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Glen Kappy 08 May 2017

i smiled reading this delightful encomium to tea. But H2O is the favorite mixed drink for me.

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James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley

Greenfield, Indiana
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