Page:Life of William Blake 2, Gilchrist.djvu/70

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48
SELECTIONS FROM BLAKE'S WRITINGS.

Can I see another's woe,
And not be in sorrow too?
Can I see another's grief,
And not seek for kind relief?


Can I see a falling tear,
And not feel my sorrows share?
Can a father see his child
Weep, nor be with sorrow fill'd?


Can a mother sit and hear,
An infant groan, an infant fear?
No, no! never can it be!
Never, never can it be!


And can He, who smiles on all,
Hear the wren, with sorrows small,
Hear the small bird's grief and care,
Hear the woes that infants bear?


And not sit beside the nest,
Pouring Pity in their breast?
And not sit the cradle near,
Weeping tear on infant's tear?


And not sit both night and day,
Wiping all our tears away?
Oh, no! never can it be!
Never, never can it be!