Sweet And Red Poem by William Reading

When wine flows past my lips
Like a river of blood
The tongue of fire in my mouth
Fire of life, ember of death

As a soldier gets his first taste,
I too feel a rush of ecstasy
By wine or by blood
I shall be alive

Great vineyards of Italy
A vast Roman Empire
As a man strives to seek
Its terrible fabled peak
Caesar's grapes do grow,
Sweet blood of man shall flow

An unmatched intoxication
Of an emotional desolation
Far from the land of sorrow
Yet merely a kiss
From love and tomorrow