Religion

Auguries of Innocence

by William Blake 1757–1827

From The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse, ed. D. H. S. Nicholson and A. H. E. Lee (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1917)

Religion

To see a World in a grain of sand,
And a Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
And Eternity in an hour. . . .

The bat that flits at close of eve
Has left the brain that won't believe.
The owl that calls upon the night
Speaks the unbeliever's fright. . . .

Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine;
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine. . . .

Every tear from every eye
Becomes a babe in Eternity. . . .
The bleat, the bark, bellow, and roar
Are waves that beat on Heaven's shore. . . .

He who doubts from what he sees
Will ne'er believe, do what you please.
If the Sun and Moon should doubt,
They'd immediately go out. . . .

God appears, and God is Light,
To those poor souls who dwell in Night;
But does a Human Form display
To those who dwell in realms of Day.

✦ ✦ ✦

Extract from Auguries of Innocence.

MLA

Blake, William. “Auguries of Innocence.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/blake/60/.

Chicago

Blake, William. “Auguries of Innocence.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/blake/60/.

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