Pity would be no more
If we did not make somebody poor;
And Mercy no more could be
If all were as happy as we.
And mutual fear brings Peace,
Till the selfish loves increase:
Then Cruelty knits a snare,
And spreads his baits with care.
He sits down with holy fears,
And waters the grounds with tears;
Then Humility takes its root
Underneath his foot.
Soon spreads the dismal shade
Of Mystery over his head;
And the caterpillar and fly
Feed on the Mystery.
And it bears the fruit of Deceit,
Ruddy and sweet to eat;
And the raven his nest has made
In its thickest shade.
The gods of the earth and sea
Sought through nature to find this tree,
But their search was all in vain:
There grows one in the human Brain.
Mish thanks for posting this .I am going to read it each day and reflect.I did not at first relate to this and that was because it challenged my heart to think from a different perspective . The more I do the more I appreciate its challenges .Then I found this quote from John Donoghue" When you choose someone or some way of life, you invest your heart. Choice becomes an invitation to commitment. When you commit, you deepen presence. Though your choice narrows the range of possibility now open to you, it increases the intensity of the chosen possibility..."
ReplyDeleteBeing aware of the way choices narrow possibilities seems implicit in Blake's poem but it is stated very starkly to arrest our attention .JD's quote kind of gives permission to give a heart to something but never lose the awareness of both the narrowness and intensity that that choice affords us .All part of individual worth and uniqueness we can share positively .Difference and listening to it gives us more to share .Thanks for the "gift" of this poem this week ;-)
Thanks the Silver Hoody for your comments. The poem also made me think about choices, from the societal perspective. For example, I feel that the phrase "mutual fear brings Peace", could be used to describe how many nations do their foreign policy and diplomacy these days. When the author remarks about "the fruit of Deceit" and "the raven's nest", I thought about how societies come to define the social norms and how we navigate our way through them every day. Just like a raven that learned to survive by being cunning and opportunistic, we are not immune from employing similar tools, often to the detriment to ourselves and others. A lot to think about.
ReplyDeleteWOW! Silverhoody and Mish have really connected on this poem! I am going to sit back and enjoy this discussion. The only think I can say about the poem is that no man is an island --we are all connected--but specifically, in this case, Silverhoody and Mish are really connected!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is such fun and no institution or political power can stop that !
ReplyDeleteHey that's true freedom of choice? Well at least on this blog unless Big Brother is monitoring us ?
"Mutual fear brings peace" is a phrase that is really "cloying" with me today .That phrase could be interpreted in so many ways .Does peace really stem from fear? I would rather think that mutual peace has a more dynamic opportunity in coming from mutual understanding and an accomodation that respects each others rights to be different and unique. As long as the integrity of another is not violated .I suppose that's peaceful coexistence.
So where does "mutual peace arising from fear " have its roots .I would suggest perhaps in our obsession with controlling others and the need to feel we belong to a group of like-minded others .(sense of identity)Then with control we find words like authority , power and dominance.
Thank you William Blake for your unique perspective on the world !
Hi Mish,
ReplyDeleteBlake's poems are wonderfully romantic, and always carry a deep social commentary element within them, against the over-bearing and cruel 'Establishment' that subjugated their fr
Blake was a very 'black and white' poet, abstract was to him the very opposite of the definiteness of an image, and metaphorically he always presented an argument and conundrum to the bourgeoisie, which of course they always ignored; hence one of the reasons that he was not well known in his lifetime or for some fifty years or so afterwards!
His 'Songs of Innocence and of Experience' are a sad reflection on society in the 18th century, and he became a stalwart for change and improved conditions.
How far have we progressed Mish? Well I suppose that we, in the West, to a certain extent have some control, must be counted as progress indeed.
I wonder what Blake would have to say if he were alive now?
Miss you all, Smiley