Page:The letters of William Blake (1906).djvu/63

SONG^[1]

"How sweet I roamed from field to field,
And tasted all the summer's pride,
Till I the prince of love beheld,
Who in the summer beams did glide.

He showed me lilies for my hair,
And blushing roses for my brow,
He led me thro' his gardens fair,
Where all his golden pleasures grow.

With sweet May-dew my wings were wet,
And Phœbus fired my vocal rage,
He caught me in his silken net,
And shut me in his golden cage.

He loves to sit and hear me sing,
Then laughing sports and plays with me,
And stretches out my golden wing,
And mocks my loss of liberty."

SONG^[2]

"Love and harmony combine,
And around our souls entwine:
While thy branches mix with mine,
And our roots together join.

Joys upon our branches sit,
Chirping loud and singing sweet,
Like gentle streams beneath our feet,
Innocence and virtue meet.

Thou the golden fruit dost bear,
I am clad in flowers fair,
Thy sweet boughs perfume the air,
And the turtle buildeth there.

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1. Poetical Sketches, p. 10. Malkin, who quotes this song, says it was written before the age of fourteen.
2. Ibid, p. 12.