Songs of Experience

by William Blake


Previous Chapter Next Chapter

The Fly


The Fly from Songs of Experience

Little Fly,
Thy summer’s play
My thoughtless hand
Has brushed away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance,
And drink, and sing,
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing.

If thought is life
And strength and breath,
And the want
Of thought is death;

Then am I
A happy fly.
If I live,
Or if I die.

 

Return to the Songs of Experience Summary Return to the William Blake Library

© 2022 AmericanLiterature.com