The Clod and the Pebble

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Clod and the Pebble is a poem written by the English poet William Blake. It was published as part of his collection Songs of Experience in 1794.

[edit] The Poem

'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.'