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The echoing Green

    (A poem by William Blake)

    The sun does arise,
    And make happy the skies;
    The merry bells ring
    To welcome the Spring;
    The skylark and thrush,
    The birds of the bush,
    Sing louder around
    To the bells’ cheerful sound;
    While our sports shall be seen
    On the echoing green.

    Old John, with white hair,
    Does laugh away care,
    Sitting under the oak,
    Among the old folk.
    They laugh at our play,
    And soon they all say,
    ‘Such, such were the joys
    When we all—girls and boys—
    In our youth-time were seen
    On the echoing green.’

    Till the little ones, weary,
    No more can be merry:
    The sun does descend,
    And our sports have an end.
    Round the laps of their mothers
    Many sisters and brothers,
    Like birds in their nest,
    Are ready for rest,
    And sport no more seen
    On the darkening green.

    William Blake - read poems online

    William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker whose work is today considered seminal and significant in the history of both poetry and the visual arts. Read more of his writings here.

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