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| William Blake |
On behalf of the 12th Olympics held in London, today we are featuring one of hundreds of poems by William Blake (1757-1827). Blake was born on November 28, 1757 in London. Two of his six siblings died in infancy. He married Catherine Boucher in 1782. She was an illiterate woman and William taught her to read, write and draftsmanship. She later helped him print his poetry. They never had children.
As
a child, William Blake spoke of seeing visions and later applied his ethereal
visitations to much of his poetry. He was a nonconformist and taught himself
Latin, Hebrew, Greek and Italian so that he could read classical works in their
original language. William Blake died in 1827.
“London”
by William Blake
I wander thro' each charter'd street,
Near where the charter'd Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
In every cry of every man,
In every Infant's cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forg'd manacles I hear.
How the Chimney-sweeper's cry
Every blackning Church appalls;
And the hapless Soldier's sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls.
But most thro' midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlot's curse
Blasts the new-born Infant's tear,
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.
by William Blake
I wander thro' each charter'd street,
Near where the charter'd Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
In every cry of every man,
In every Infant's cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forg'd manacles I hear.
How the Chimney-sweeper's cry
Every blackning Church appalls;
And the hapless Soldier's sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls.
But most thro' midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlot's curse
Blasts the new-born Infant's tear,
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.
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