Three Springs

Three springs in life's immense and joyless desert
Leap into light from a mysterious source;
The spring of youth, boiling in bright rebellion,
Bubbles and sparkles ere It runs its course;
Life's exiles at the clear Castalian fountain
Drink draughts more pure, more heady than the first;
But 'tis the deep, cold wellspring of oblivion
That slakes most sweetly ecstasy and thirst.