I quote from Ms. Bond: "When you see this, post poetry on your own site."And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?
And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark Satanic mills?
Bring me my bow of burning gold:
Bring me my arrows of desire:
Bring me my spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire.
I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.
William Blake.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
One of the few poems I have memorized...
...thanks to my Blake obsession, and the rockin' version performed by The Fall. A few people have posted poems, including Gwenda Bond, BeaucoupKevin, and Mumble Herder.
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I am not a religious man -- in fact, depending on how irritated I am with the religious right, and I am quite frequently nowadays, I identify as atheist. But William Blake is one of a few writers and artists -- others include Hiroshige, Charles Schulz, Richard Strauss, Philip K. Dick, Virginia Woolf, Brian Wilson, Jean Cocteau, Claude Debussy -- through whom a sense of the divine is conveyed to me. Not because of the subject matter, but because of what they accomplish in their respective media.
William Blake wrote, illustrated, engraved, published, and attempted to sell his own books. He taught himself Greek and Hebrew. I think he's an amazing writer and artist, who is too often dismissed as an eccentric by his audience.
I sure do sound pretentious!
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