Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
Those who linger late over wine,
those who keep trying mixed wines.
Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
At the last it bites like a serpent,
and stings like an adder.
Your eyes will see strange things,
and your mind utter perverse things.
You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
like one who lies on the top of a mast.
‘They struck me’, you will say, ‘but I was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
I will seek another drink.’
Proverbs 23:29-35
I gave up alcohol for Lent. I think it was all those John Wesley sermons I read…
the irony is in the glass of red wine I sip as I catch up on the blogs of those I love.