Someone at another forum I belong to had the last lines of William Blake's
The Garden of Love as their signature. It really caught my eye, and I read the entire poem. I was not very familiar with Blake's poetry, although I quite like his artwork. The only other poem I had read of his was
The Tiger.
Quote:
The Garden of Love
II went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen;
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.
And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And 'Thou shalt not' writ over the door;
So I turned to the Garden of Love
That so many sweet flowers bore.
And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tombstones where flowers should be;
And priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,
And binding with briars my joys and desires.
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I think at first reading, the poem can be interpreted as being anti-religious, (and indeed, I believe that is how Blake meant it to be read) although that is
not what strikes me about it. I particularly like the line "And 'Thou shalt not' writ over the door". I think it resonates with me because of my own personal history.
*edit*
I found this page, that has a few illustrations to go with the poem.
William Blake's "The Garden of Love"