Ode to a Cup

O cup, tonight you're filled halfway with beer--
Some see you as half empty or half full--
But I don't care, I'm a stranger here,
Watching you sparkle like a fuddled fool.

O cup of drunkenness, debauchery, despair,
O cup of jubilant and orgiastic noise,
O cup of glory, fame and bitter tears,
O empty cup, once overfilled with joy...

O cup of all the things that I desired,
O poison cup of vitriolic rage,
O cup rejected, O bright cup of fire,
O cup of youthful folly and old age.

I drink tonight to all the years I've wasted
In all my foolish youthful reveries,
To all the pain and loneliness I've tasted--
I drink this cup of truth that sets me free.

May I awake to see one more tomorrow
Inside the arms of someone that I miss,
O cup of love, replace this cup of sorrow
With my beloved's long forgotten kiss.

 
                                                July 2, 2003
                                             --Alexander Shaumyan