It Biteth Like an Adder by DELWIN REES BUCKNER

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 23, 1910

It Biteth Like an Adder

By DELWIN REES BUCKNER

DELWIN REES BUCKNER

SHAME on thee, boy, a-leaning over there, Unsteady, propped against the public bar! Thy straying feet indeed have wandered far If from thy mind hath slipped thy mother's prayer,— That prayer one evening, years ago at home, When thou didst promise on thy word that thou Wouldst not pollute thy lips with drink; yet now Thy mouth is lowered to drain the bubbling foam.

Recall thy vow, for conscience' sake, and dash The scarlet glass upon the polished floor. There is no loss, but gain. It is no sin E'en though the fragile vessel fall and crash Into a hundred jagged bits or more; For poison lurks — and speedy death — within.

Ambato, Ecuador.