William Blake

(1757-1827)

The Garden of Love (1794)

I went to the Garden of Love

And saw what I never had seen:

A Chapel was built in the midst,

Where I used to play on the green.

 

And the gates of this Chapel were shut,

And "Thou shalt not" writ over the door,

So I turned to the Garden of Love

That so many sweet flowers bore;

 

And I saw it was filled with graves,

And tomb-stones where flowers should be;

And Priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,

And binding with briars my joys and desires.

(1794)

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