Dave Bonta's "Soirée" reads like a short toast, a wish for a party where nothing quite behaves as it should. The speaker asks for a meeting between things that don't belong together: "yes and never," "bear and bottle," "stone and noon." Some of these are abstract opposites, others are odd, almost dreamlike pairings of an animal, an object, and a time of day. The poem doesn't explain them. It simply invites them all to the same gathering.
That gathering is "merry with wine" and "wholly underwater," ending with everyone "laughing at a bass." The pun on the fish, which could also be a low musical note, adds to the silliness. The mood is playful, loose, and slightly drunk, with logic dissolving the way it does in a dream. The speaker seems to feel delighted by contradiction, and the poem suggests that when everything is allowed to mingle, even "never" and "yes" can end up sharing a laugh.