28 November 2007

William Blake

In honor of his 250th birthday, here is a poem (using his own spelling and punctuation) which I particularly enjoy.

The CLOD & the PEBBLE

Love seeketh not Itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care;
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a Heaven in Hells despair.

So sang a little Clod of Clay,
Trodden with the cattles feet;
But a Pebble of the brook,
Warbled out these metres meet.

Love seeketh only Self to please,
To bind another to Its delight:
Joys in anothers loss of ease,
And builds a Hell in Heavens despite.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

whoa.

So which one do YOU believe?

michele said...

well, I think they're both right. they each represent two different perspectives about life. I think the real question Blake asks is 'which are you, the clod or the pebble?' To me, the clod represents a person who is open-minded, has a repentant heart, and is willing to change when he's wrong. The pebble is stubborn, close-minded, and unwilling to let his heart soften. He doesn't want anyone to tell him what to do.

Unknown said...

ah.

I'm glad... I was worried that you might be jaded about love, or something. LOL. I guess I was thinking strictly in the terms he used, about Love specifically, not applying it to life perspectives in general.