Songs of Experience: Introduction

by William Blake

    Hear the voice of the Bard,
Who present, past, and future, sees;
    Whose ears have heard
    The Holy Word
That walked among the ancient trees;

    Calling the lapséd soul,
And weeping in the evening dew;
    That might control
    The starry pole,
And fallen, fallen light renew!

    'O Earth, O Earth, return!
Arise from out the dewy grass!
    Night is worn,
    And the morn
Rises from the slumbrous mass.

    'Turn away no more;
Why wilt thou turn away?
    The starry floor,
    The watery shore,
Is given thee till the break of day.'


Next: Earth's Answer


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