Immortals of the Wine Cup — Summary

Dave BontaCheerful

A red-faced divinity, the fool who won a quart of sack. He and I talk beauty till we’re both angry, then walk in the fields.

Show the whole poemHide the poem

Learn Poems app

Try the Learn Poems app

Everything from the website trainer, and more: new exercises, voice recording and sharing, reminders, quick review.

The poem is a small, funny portrait of a friendship. It opens with a drunk man, a "red-faced divinity," who has won a quart of sack, a kind of wine. The speaker calls him a fool, but also a god, and that mix of mockery and reverence sets the tone. The title adds to it: "Immortals of the Wine Cup" makes a couple of ordinary drinkers sound like legendary figures.

The speaker and this man talk about beauty so intensely that they both get angry. It's a nice detail, because it suggests they take the subject seriously, even if the setting is a little ridiculous. Then the anger simply passes, and they walk in the fields.

The speaker seems fond of him, and glad of the argument itself. The mood is warm, wry, and relaxed. Disagreement doesn't damage the friendship here; it's part of it, and the quiet walk at the end feels like a way of making peace without having to say anything.

Read also

More by Dave Bonta

All poems
ContemplativeDave Bonta

Plea bargain

I hear half a beat of drum to serve time have half a hope in the meantime praise God
DreamyDave Bonta

Cibola 3

I awake in the dark and shake free of sheets & blankets, of down-filled quilt. The rituals of waking– the long, hot shower, the coffee–give
ContemplativeDave Bonta

In good light

On a maple’s pale bark, a zigzag ladder—old tooth-marks from a wandering snail? Green islands of moss