In this tiny epigram, Richard Crashaw speaks directly to Christ, recalling the first miracle at the wedding in Cana, where water became wine. He calls Jesus a “fair friend of life,” a phrase that brims with affection and gratitude for a generous, life-affirming act. Then, with a swift turn, he introduces a “foe”—likely Satan, or the force of sin—who twists that sweetness. To oppose Christ’s “sweet arts,” this enemy distills from the very wine “tears of wrath and strife,” turning wine back to water, but now the water is made of sorrow. The poem’s mood is compact and astringent; there’s a startling neatness in how Crashaw pivots from miracle to malice. The speaker seems to marvel at how divine generosity can be so perfectly inverted. The overall feeling is one of sharp, poignant contrast—grace undone, yet never forgotten.
Divine Epigrams: To our Lord, upon the Water Made Wine — Summary
Thou water turn'st to wine, fair friend of life, Thy foe, to cross the sweet arts of thy reign, Distills from thence the tears of wrath and strife, And so turns wine to water back again.