In 1794 the poet William Blake published his “Songs of Experience,” a collection of poems (complete with his own hand-colored illustrations and illuminated borders) of which one is “The Sick Rose.”
O Rose thou art sick.
The invisible worm,
That flies in the night
In the howling storm:
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.
William Blake (1794)
In the last couple of days I read two poems by poet-bloggers, Shay Simmons and Susie Clevenger, inspired by the former’s recent Word Garden Word List, that caused me to revisit Blake’s poem which turns upon its head the rose as a longstanding symbol of love. Remember the sanguine notes of notable philanderer and Scots poet Robert Burns, “A Red, Red Rose,” also published in the very same year of 1794?
O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune.
So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only luve!
And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my luve,
Though it were ten thousand mile.
Robert Burns (1794)
Such words, uttered with the smooth-talking perfection of a notorious ladies-man, can hide a deceiving heart, or trap an unwitting one into a firestorm of pain, which leads me back to Blake’s poem.
Enigmatic as it is, the poem like the winged worm it speaks of, nestles into our mind the suspicion that beauty or love in this fallen world contains its own destruction. But what or who is this “invisible worm” that “flies in the night”? What is the “howling storm”? How has he come to rest in the bed of “crimson joy”? And what is his “dark secret love”? Perhaps he is his own secret love, certainly not his host, the rose, whose life this narcissist destroys.
How tragic and how powerless is the rose to stop her own wreckage!
Were I a sin eater I would be fat on my own misjudgments.
Nonsense argues a kiss can turn a toad into a prince…
What dignity is there in bargaining with fairytales?
Is it faulty judgments, fantasy expectations or something more sinister, internal, that threatens love? Clevenger dissects romance into its spurious component parts of false appraisals, doubtful expectations, and “canonized” tokens of longing, and looking back on the “pressed petals” of “bitter violets,” her own “songs of experience,” her persona concludes, “Fantasy has no power to reincarnate reality from ashes.”
In “The Hosting Tree,” Shay Simmons writes something so akin to Blake that the echoes play countermelodies one to the other. The host this time is a tree and the worm “a lush green climbing vine” that kills the tree, charmed once by the vine’s kindness which hid its “falsity.” What “idle devil” “set such poison in the heart” of the vine? The simple imagery, the quietness of tone, the meter and rhyme of questioning pain unearths the enigma of, if you will, the “sick rose,” its beauty and innocence helpless to defend, much less heal.
The human experience is full of paradoxes, some answerable, some not, and our poets sing the songs that expose our raw vulnerabilities. Yet we carry in us the image of perfect love, even when we have failed to find it. We carry the desire for perfection, even as we ourselves remain imperfect. We carry within us the knowledge of eternity, even as graveyards surround us and we await our own moment of death. We are the rose. We are the enigma.
. . . when “[God] will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
I am so flattered to be mentioned here with Blake and Susie! The Sick Rose is an all-time favorite of mine, and one of the first poems I was struck by and remembered. It’s a masterpiece to be sure. I’m so glad my poem spoke to you, Dora. Thank you so much for the shout out! Susie, of course, is always an excellent read.
I once wrote a parody of the Robert Burns poem, and it was published in a volume of dog-themed poetry–on the first page! Here it is, for your amusement. It’s called “A Cold Wet Nose”
If ever a wee creature deserved a wee luve poem, oh sure it must be a wee doggie! Thanks for the smile which I’m sure Burns would share as well. I can tell you for a fact that the owner of “a cold wet nose” in our house is less a pet and more a member of the family and we would echo every line of your verse. Grateful to you, Shay, for the beautiful poetry you share on your blog and which inspire thoughts as those written in this post. 🙏❤️
So much egnima with the human condition; You hit this head on: “The human experience is full of paradoxes, some answerable, some not, and our poets sing the songs that expose our raw vulnerabilities. Yet we carry in us the image of perfect love, even when we have failed to find it. ” I think the IDEAl of perfect love compels us to believe in God
Yep. When I deliberately chose “image” instead of “ideal” though because we all, every last one of us, have God’s image stamped on us (like a coin, defaced as it may be) and He is perfect Love. Well, that’s the connection I was going for anyway.
Timeless poem which inspired the French Romantic poets of 19th century, but maybe Ronsard from the 16th inspired Blake too ! Beautiful handwritten and painted version by himself. Had never seen this. Thank so so much for this post dorahak and coalblack’s parody.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the post and poetry, Susan. Blake’s hand-painted engravings are indeed remarkable. I was looking over his illustrations of Dante recently, noticing his unique versatility, how his art alters to match his own interpretive take. Thank you for mentioning Ronsard’s influence on Blake which I was unaware of.🙏🙂
Dreams from a Pilgrimage 
Looking forward to love in the new heavens and the new earth…
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. . . when “[God] will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
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Hallelujah.
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I am so flattered to be mentioned here with Blake and Susie! The Sick Rose is an all-time favorite of mine, and one of the first poems I was struck by and remembered. It’s a masterpiece to be sure. I’m so glad my poem spoke to you, Dora. Thank you so much for the shout out! Susie, of course, is always an excellent read.
I once wrote a parody of the Robert Burns poem, and it was published in a volume of dog-themed poetry–on the first page! Here it is, for your amusement. It’s called “A Cold Wet Nose”
( with apologies to Robert Burns)
O, my luve he has a coold wet nose,
He came to me in June.
O my luve has his own melodie
That’s sweetly howled in tune.
As hoongry art thou, my bonnie lad,
So deep in luve am I,
And I will fill thy bowl, my dear,
Till the kibble bags gang dry.
Till the kibble bags gang dry, my dear,
We’ll go walkin’ in the soon!
And I will pitch thy toy, my dear,
And after it ye shall roon.
I’m off to work, my oonly luve,
And fare thee weel a while!
I really weel come home, my luve,
Though it were ten thousand mile!
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If ever a wee creature deserved a wee luve poem, oh sure it must be a wee doggie! Thanks for the smile which I’m sure Burns would share as well. I can tell you for a fact that the owner of “a cold wet nose” in our house is less a pet and more a member of the family and we would echo every line of your verse. Grateful to you, Shay, for the beautiful poetry you share on your blog and which inspire thoughts as those written in this post. 🙏❤️
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I think the rose is a good example of love, with thorns and difficulty to fully remove from one’s yard. 🙂
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It does teach a lesson of its own that way, and how many roses are sold on Valentine’s Day lol.
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Eh. They strip the thorns off then.
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Lol. They do, don’t they?!
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So much egnima with the human condition; You hit this head on: “The human experience is full of paradoxes, some answerable, some not, and our poets sing the songs that expose our raw vulnerabilities. Yet we carry in us the image of perfect love, even when we have failed to find it. ” I think the IDEAl of perfect love compels us to believe in God
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Yep. When I deliberately chose “image” instead of “ideal” though because we all, every last one of us, have God’s image stamped on us (like a coin, defaced as it may be) and He is perfect Love. Well, that’s the connection I was going for anyway.
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👍👍👍👍👍wow good one
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Prayed for your ministry this morning and for the Lord to minister to your spirit as well. Praise God!
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Wow thank you for your prayers
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Timeless poem which inspired the French Romantic poets of 19th century, but maybe Ronsard from the 16th inspired Blake too ! Beautiful handwritten and painted version by himself. Had never seen this. Thank so so much for this post dorahak and coalblack’s parody.
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I’m so glad you enjoyed the post and poetry, Susan. Blake’s hand-painted engravings are indeed remarkable. I was looking over his illustrations of Dante recently, noticing his unique versatility, how his art alters to match his own interpretive take. Thank you for mentioning Ronsard’s influence on Blake which I was unaware of.🙏🙂
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You are welcome, I was thinking of his poem which starts “Allons voir si la rose…” “Let us go and see if this rose…”
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I’ll look it up! Thanks Susan. 🙂
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