The Greatest Works of William Blake (With Complete Original Illustrations). William Blake

      America A Prophecy (1793)

       Table of Contents

Plates

       Table of Contents

Text

       Table of Contents

      Preludium

      The shadowy daughter of Urthona stood before red Orc.

      When fourteen suns had faintly journey’d o’er his dark abode;

      His food she brought in iron baskets, his drink in cups of iron;

      Crown’d with a helmet & dark hair the nameless female stood;

      A quiver with its burning stores, a bow like that of night,

      When pestilence is shot from heaven; no other arms she need:

      Invulnerable tho’ naked, save where clouds roll round her loins,

      Their awful folds in the dark air; silent she stood as night;

      For never from her iron tongue could voice or sound arise;

      But dumb till that dread day when Orc assay’d his fierce embrace.

      Dark virgin; said the hairy youth, thy father stern abhorr’d;

      Rivets my tenfold chains while still on high my spirit soars;

      Sometimes an eagle screaming in the sky, sometimes a lion,

      Stalking upon the mountains, & sometimes a whale I lash

      The raging fathomless abyss, anon a serpent folding

      Around the pillars of Urthona, and round thy dark limbs,

      On the Canadian wilds I fold, feeble my spirit folds.

      For chaind beneath I rend these caverns; when thou bringest food

      I howl my joy! and my red eyes seek to behold thy face

      In vain! these clouds roll to & fro, & hide thee from my sight.

      Silent as despairing love, and strong as jealousy,

      The hairy shoulders rend the links, free are the wrists of fire;

      Round the terrific loins he siez’d the panting struggling womb;

      It joy’d: she put aside her clouds & smiled her firstborn smile;

      As when a black cloud shews its light’nings to the silent deep.

      Soon as she saw the terrible boy then burst the virgin cry.

      I know thee, I have found thee, & I will not let thee go;

      Thou art the image of God who dwells in darkness of Africa;