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To Tirzah

William Blake·1757–1827
Lines:16Movement:Romanticism
Whate'er is born of mortal birthMust be consumed with the earth,To rise from generation free:Then what have I to do with thee?The sexes sprang from shame and pride,Blown in the morn, in evening died;But mercy changed death into sleep;The sexes rose to work and weep. Thou, mother of my mortal part,With cruelty didst mould my heart,And with false self-deceiving tearsDidst bind my nostrils, eyes, and ears, Didst close my tongue in senseless clay,And me to mortal life betray.The death of Jesus set me free:Then what have I to do with thee?