The Clod and the Pebble

by William Blake · 1794 · Love & Romance · Lyric
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.

About William Blake

English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognized during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in Romantic poetry.

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