mercy, pity, peace, and love

By Nolan

Fri, 28 Jul 2023
  • 761 reads
5 comments
 

The Divine Image

To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love
All pray in their distress;
And to these virtues of delight
Return their thankfulness.

For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love
Is God, our father dear,
And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love
Is Man, his child and care.

For Mercy has a human heart,
Pity a human face,
And Love, the human form divine,
And Peace, the human dress.

Then every man, of every clime,
That prays in his distress,
Prays to the human form divine,
Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace.

And all must love the human form,
In heathen, Turk, or Jew;
Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell
There God is dwelling too.
~

William Blake (1757 – 1827)

Certificate U
Poem
shadow of death
Quotations

Comments

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

I hadn't read this before. He seems to be meditating on mankind made in the image of God, and can/should be reflecting these wonderful qualities. But they are marred because of the fall, but can be grown again, when his regeneration, making anew, accepted in Christ, and his Holy Spirt residing in the heart  to make again more like the Creator Father. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Nolan on

In the image of God the Creator I believe you're right Rhiannon, also those virtues do not belong to us alone, people of other religions all have these things they are universal. As in the Bible, God is Love. The poem is typical of William Blake. It was really just an example I am working on more stuff of my own, more on Africa. For a writer one absolute necessity is to be original I just liked this a lot it seems very appropriate. Once-off.

By the way there is no problem here with copyright it would have expired long ago.

I feel tired still more load shedding what a way to start a weekend. And they say it is going to be Cold. My heater packed up too look on the bright side I'll save on my electricity bill.

Nolan &&

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

I hope you can all keep warm enough. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Nolan on

In his time he was generally regarded insane but harmless, he was prolific today a stature of genius. A prophet is not without honour save in his own country. He was never in school and questioned every accepted value of his time and writing in simple beauty.

The poems are mostly accessible and with wonderful imagination and originality, amazing fluency and clarity. They often have the quality of child-like wonder such as the poems of “Songs of Innocence”. In contrast as extremes “The Tyger” and “A Poison Tree”, “The Garden of Love” and prose “Proverbs of Hell”.

“Jerusalem” is perhaps his most well known poem and has been used as an anthem in England. Songs, legends, annotations and notes, the longer works as "prophesy" are seldom read they are considered obscure.

His wife Catherine believed in him completely and unquestionably, with trade as an engraver he was married with children but they were poor. The engravings were for printing, in copper plates and wood he is famous as an artist also.

 

Submitted by Nolan on

To see a World in a grain of sand, and a Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand, and Eternity in an hour.

From Auguries of Innocence