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Who never wanted, — maddest joy

by Emily Dickinson, 1896

Who never wanted, — maddest joy
  Remains to him unknown:
The banquet of abstemiousness
  Surpasses that of wine.

Within its hope, though yet ungrasped
  Desire's perfect goal,
No nearer, lest reality
  Should disenthrall thy soul.

Published in Poems by Emily Dickinson: Third Series
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