Henry Charles Beeching, ed. (1859–1919). Lyra Sacra: A Book of Religious Verse. 1903.
By William Blake (17571827)Auguries of Innocence
A ROBIN REDBREAST in a cage | |||||||||
Puts all heaven in a rage; | |||||||||
A skylark wounded on the wing | |||||||||
Doth make a cherub cease to sing. | |||||||||
Kill not the moth nor butterfly, | 5 | ||||||||
For the last judgment draweth nigh. | |||||||||
He who respects the infant’s faith | |||||||||
Triumphs over hell and death. | |||||||||
He who shall teach the child to doubt | |||||||||
The rotting grave shall ne’er get out. | 10 | ||||||||
He who replies to words of doubt | |||||||||
Doth put the light of knowledge out; | |||||||||
A puddle, or the cricket’s cry | |||||||||
Is to doubt a fit reply. | |||||||||
Every night and every morn | 15 | ||||||||
Some to misery are born; | |||||||||
Every morn and every night | |||||||||
Some are born to sweet delight. | |||||||||
Joy and woe are woven fine, | |||||||||
A clothing for the soul divine; | 20 | ||||||||
Under every grief and pine | |||||||||
Runs a joy with silken twine. | |||||||||
God appears, and God is light | |||||||||
To those poor souls who dwell in night; | |||||||||
But doth a human form display | 25 | ||||||||
To those who dwell in realms of day. | |||||||||