Tuesday, April 13, 2010

When I was in the fifth grade, my teacher Ms. Clark, was gushy about the Romantic poets and one of our assignments was to select a poem from that period and memorize it. Blake had already captured my sensibility and it was not difficult for me to decide upon "To the Evening Star." In my ten-year-old view, I imagined this the most beautiful and sensuous poem I had ever read. I suppose I still do. I definitely could bear to have this whispered to me under the stars on a clear summer evening.


TO THE EVENING STAR

by: William Blake (1757-1827)

Thou fair-hair'd angel of the evening,
Now, whilst the sun rests on the mountains, light
Thy bright torch of love; thy radiant crown
Put on, and smile upon our evening bed!
Smile on our loves, and while thou drawest the
Blue curtains of the sky, scatter thy silver dew
On every flower that shuts its sweet eyes
In timely sleep. Let thy west wind sleep on
The lake; speak silence with thy glimmering eyes,
And wash the dusk with silver. Soon, full soon,
Dost thou withdraw; then the wolf rages wide,
And then the lion glares through the dun forest:
The fleeces of our flocks are cover'd with
Thy sacred dew: protect them with thine influence!