The Clod and the Pebble

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Songs of Experience  (1794) by William Blake The Clod and the Pebble

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This poem was published in Songs of Experience in 1794.

'Love seeketh not itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care,
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a heaven in hell's despair.'

So sung a little clod of clay,
Trodden with the cattle's feet,
But a pebble of the brook
Warbled out these metres meet:

'Love seeketh only Self to please,
To bind another to its delight,
Joys in another's loss of ease,
And builds a hell in heaven's despite.'

This work published before January 1, 1923 is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.