| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Georgian Verse. 1909. | | | | Dedication of the Designs to Blair’s ‘Grave’ | | By William Blake (1757–1827) |
| | To Queen Charlotte
THE DOOR of death is made of gold, | |
| That mortal eyes cannot behold; | |
| But, when the mortal eyes are clos’d, | |
| And cold and pale the limbs repos’d, | |
| The soul awakes; and, wond’ring, sees | 5 |
| In her mild hand the golden keys: | |
| The grave is heaven’s golden gate, | |
| And rich and poor around it wait; | |
| O Shepherdess of England’s fold, | |
| Behold this gate of pearl and gold! | 10 |
| |
| To dedicate to England’s Queen | |
| The visions that my soul has seen, | |
| And, by Her kind permission, bring | |
| What I have borne on solemn wing, | |
| From the vast regions of the grave, | 15 |
| Before Her throne my wings I wave, | |
| Bowing before my Sov’reign’s feet, | |
| ‘The Grave produc’d these blossoms sweet | |
| In mild repose from earthly strife; | |
| The blossoms of eternal life!’ | 20 | | | |
|
|
