William Blake poem-A sign of OUR times

[jupiterbeings]

Here is a poem entitled 'Holy Thursday' written by William Blake in 1794 that reflects his vision of the state of England at the time that is uncannily like that of today. See his inclusion of the word 'usurous'. Usury basically means 'the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans'. Anyway here it is.

Is this a holy thing to see
In a rich and fruitful land,
Babes reduced to misery,
Fed with cold and usurous hand?

Is that trembling cry a song?
Can it be a song of joy?
And so many children poor?
It is a land of poverty!

And their sun does never shine,
And their fields are bleak and bare,
And their ways are filled with thorns:
It is eternal winter there.

For where’er the sun does shine,
And where’er the rain does fall,
Babes should never hunger there,
Nor poverty the mind appall.

 

[Mr. Premise]

Nice one. Thanks for sharing it!

 

[SeekinTruth]

Nice one. Thanks for sharing it!

Same here. It seems, through the centuries, things haven't changed. I've read this before, but it's a good reminder - powerful poem.

 

[Voyageur]

Thanks for sharing this particular Blake poem, jupiterbeings.

 

[caballero reyes]

Blake wrote this poem in 1794. It's a pity that the poems do not change the state of things in the world. Liza Guliani, member of this forum, expressed the same disappointment in his poem:


"In the name of peace"

hundreds of college kids crowded 'round me the other day holding signs that said "We Don't Want Your War" ,
wearing torn white sheets as arm bands, a nice touch for the clicking cameras.

We'll "walk-out for peace" they said.
"We'll protest and march," they shouted.
"We'll sanction LIFE," they cried.

The media was there, microphones and video cameras cranked up to catch this 'national' news.

I was there too, sitting alone on a cold stone ledge at the Old Main building,
while behind me bodies and signs clogged the walkways and I was thinking a million thoughts
as someone pressed a blue button into my hand, "A symbol of the children who will die In Iraq," she said. "Wear it and keep a dead child next to your heart."

The crowd of 20-somethings standing behind me became a sea of faces
a wall of peace symbols and I felt a weird rush of emotion in my gut,
wondered how the world ever got so effed-up twisted and distorted in the first place -
wondered, when will it all end?
Kids laughing, high-fiving one another as they ditched class in the name of peace.

I looked up, felt the sky cry on my shoulder at times then the sun breathing its warm breath at others
as the rhetoric rushed from giant speakers droning, intense, roaring, words whipping us all with their fire and frenzy, words like mortar shells.
I could almost hear the sound of bodies dropping to the ground.
I don't think anyone else heard what I did, because they were busy giving themselves one more round of applause
just for being there.

and no one saw
the tears in my eyes
as it dawned on me
that nothing has changed
and the blind really do
lead the blind.

http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,29031.0.html

Thanks for sharing, Jupiterbeings.

 

[l apprenti de forgeron]

Thanks for sharing, jupiterbeings. And you too caballeros reyes, for bring that poem by Lisa.