Recently I attended a day course on the work of William Blake. In many ways a difficult but visionary man. When are those blest with great gifts ever easy to live with or understand. A fascinating day and well worth the trip to Oxford. Thank you to the Oxford Centre for Spiritual Growth, they run very interesting courses. Below a snippet of Blake’s genius.

Extract from Auguries of Innocence:

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
and a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the Palm of your hand
and Eternity in an hour
a Robin Redbreast in a Cage
puts all Heaven in a Rage
a Dove house filled with Doves and Pigeons
Shudders Hell thr’ all its regions
a dog starved at his Master’s Gate
predicts the ruin of the State
a Horse misused upon the Road
calls to Heaven for Human Blood
each outcry of the Hunted Hare
a fibre from the Brain does tear…

His passion for kindness and justice shines through. the poem is a very long one and keeps the theme of abhorrence at cruelty.
I only hope my poor attempts at poetry live after me and people say ‘she had compassion too…”

with grace and kindness – Denny Bradbury