William Blake (1757-1827) was an astonishingly creative person. We know him for his mystical poetry, his unusual paintings and his printmaking inventions. Although he lived in London for almost his entire life, his imagination seems to have known no bounds. He revered the Bible but not the Church of England, and he had a private mythology full of very complex symbolism. Of all the Romantic writers, he is one of the least read relative to the powerful influence he has had, even on our own time.
A little black thing among the snow,
Crying ” ‘weep! ‘weep!” in notes of woe!
“Where are thy father and mother? say?”—
“They are both gone up to the church to pray.
For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,
Is God our Father dear;
And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,
Is man, his child and care.
John Becker has written a simple chant called “Litany of the Saints,” which in its original form is literally a list of saints of the Catholic Church. But it is easy to write your own lyrics!
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