Page:Life of William Blake 2, Gilchrist.djvu/158

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104
SELECTIONS FROM BLAKE'S WRITINGS.

'Awake, awake, my little boy!
Thou wast thy mother's only joy;
Why dost thou weep in thy gentle sleep?
O wake! thy father doth thee keep.


'O what land is the land of dreams?
What are its mountains and what are its streams?
'O father! I saw my mother there,
Among the lilies by waters fair.


'Among the lambs clothed in white,
She walked with her Thomas in sweet delight.
I wept for joy, like a dove I mourn—
when shall I again return!'


'Dear child! I also by pleasant streams
Have wandered all night in the land of dreams.
But, though calm and warm the waters wide
I could not get to the other side.'


'Father, O father! what do we here,
In this land of unbelief and fear?
The land of dreams is better far,
Above the light of the morning star.'