Brandy

Poetic Off-Licence

The Poetic Off-Licence
for bottled red rhyme!
Gawd knows if bordeaux
are a poet's best wine?
But begin with a gin
and go out with a stout;
for a spirit that's willing
the words will pour out.

Did Shelley drink sherry -
a cream or a dry?
Was whisky too risky
for Wordsworth to try?
Is scansion enhanced or
can cadence be caught
by quaffing a claret
or sipping a port?

Not averse to a beer
(a beer in his bonnet?)
was William Shakespeare
to kindle a sonnet.
Browning took brandy,
but bitter or stingo
or shandy is handy
to liven the lingo.

Did cider decide a
new lyric for Burns?
Or for Keats pale 'ail'
from fair Grecian urns?
Gawd knows if bordeaux
are a poet's best wine?
The Poetic Off-Licence
for bottled red rhyme!

poem © Celia Warren
First published in Orbis magazine
... about 30 years ago, at which time I'd never tasted brandy. Last night I had one for medicinal purposes - just what I needed before bed to help my cold on its way...