Delphi Poetry Anthology: The World's Greatest Poems (Delphi Poets Series Book 50) (158 page)

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Have a beautiful golden gate which opens into the vegetative world:

And every one a gate of rubies & all sorts of precious stones

In their translucent hearts, which opens into the vegetative world:

And every one a gate of iron dreadful and wonderful,

In their translucent heads, which opens into the vegetative world

And every one has the three regions Childhood: Manhood: & Age:

But the gate of the tongue: the western gate in them is clos’d,

Having a wall builded against it: and thereby the gates

Eastward & Southward & Northward, are incircled with flaming fires.

And the North is Breadth, the South is Heighth & Depth:

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The East is Inwards: & the West is Outwards every way.

And Los beheld the mild Emanation Jerusalem eastward bending

Her revolutions toward the Starry Wheels in maternal anguish

Like a pale cloud arising from the arms of Beulahs Daughters:

In Entuthon Benythons deep Vales beneath Golgonooza.

PLATE 15

And Hand & Hyle rooted into Jerusalem by a fibre

Of strong revenge & Skofeld Vegetated by Reubens Gate

In every Nation of the Earth till the Twelve Sons of Albion

Enrooted into every Nation: a mighty Polypus growing

From Albion over the whole Earth: such is my awful Vision.

I see the Four-fold Man. The Humanity in deadly sleep

And its fallen Emanation. The Spectre & its cruel Shadow.

I see the Past, Present & Future, existing all at once

Before me; O Divine Spirit sustain me on thy wings!

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That I may awake Albion from his long & cold repose.

For Bacon & Newton sheathed in dismal steel, their terrors hang

Like iron scourges over Albion. Reasonings like vast Serpents

Infold around my limbs, bruising my minute articulations

I turn my eyes to the Schools & Universities of Europe

And there behold the Loom of Locke whose Woof rages dire

Washd by the Water-wheels of Newton, black the cloth

In heavy wreathes folds over every Nation; cruel Works

Of many Wheels I view, wheel without wheel, with cogs tyrannic

Moving by compulsion each other: not as those in Eden: which

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Wheel within Wheel in freedom revolve in harmony & peace.

I see in deadly fear in London Los raging round his Anvil

Of death: forming an Ax of gold: the Four Sons of Los

Stand round him cutting the Fibres from Albions hills

That Albions Sons may roll apart over the Nations

While Reuben enroots his brethren in the narrow Canaanite

From the Limit Noah to the Limit Abram in whose Loins

Reuben in his Twelve-fold majesty & beauty shall take refuge

As Abraham flees from Chaldea shaking his goary locks

But first Albion must sleep, divided from the Nations

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I see Albion sitting upon his Rock in the first Winter

And thence I see the Chaos of Satan & the World of Adam

When the Divine Hand went forth on Albion in the mid Winter

And at the place of Death when Albion sat in Eternal Death

Among the Furnaces of Los in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom

PLATE l6

Hampstead Highgate Finchley Hendon Muswell hill: rage loud

Before Bromions iron Tongs & glowing Poker reddening fierce

Hertfordshire glows with fierce Vegetation! in the Forests

The Oak frowns terrible, the Beech & Ash & Elm enroot

Among the Spiritual fires; loud the Corn fields thunder along

The Soldiers fife; the Harlots shriek; the Virgins dismal groan

The Parents fear: the Brothers jealousy: the Sisters curse

Beneath the Storms of Theotormon & the thundring Bellows

Heaves in the hand of Palamabron who in Londons darkness

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Before the Anvil, watches the bellowing flames: thundering

The Hammer loud rages in Rintrahs strong grasp swinging loud

Round from heaven to earth down falling with heavy blow

Dead on the Anvil, where the red hot wedge groans in pain

He quenches it in the black trough of his Forge: Londons River

Feeds the dread Forge, trembling & shuddering along the Valleys

Humber & Trent roll dreadful before the Seventh Furnace

And Tweed & Tyne anxious to give up their Souls for Albions sake

Lincolnshire Derbyshire Nottinghamshire Leicestershire

From Oxfordshire to Norfolk on the Lake of Udan Adan

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Labour within the Furnaces, walking among the Fires

With Ladles huge & iron Pokers over the Island white.

Scotland pours out his Sons to labour at the Furnaces

Wales gives his Daughters to the Looms; England: nursing Mothers

Gives to the Children of Albion & to the Children of Jerusalem.

From the blue Mundane Shell even to the Earth of Vegetation

Throughout the whole Creation which groans to be deliverd

Albion groans in the deep slumbers of Death upon his Rock.

Here Los fixd down the Fifty-two Counties of England & Wales

The Thirty-six of Scotland, & the Thirty-four of Ireland

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With mighty power, when they fled out at Jerusalems Gates

Away from the Conflict of Luvah & Urizen, fixing the Gates

In the Twelve Counties of Wales & thence Gates looking every way

To the Four Points: conduct to England & Scotland & Ireland

And thence to all the Kingdoms & Nations & Families of the Earth[.]

The Gate of Reuben in Carmarthenshire: the Gate of Simeon in

Cardiganshire: & the Gate of Levi in Montgomeryshire

The Gate of Judah Merionethshire: the Gate of Dan Flintshire

The Gate of Napthali, Radnorshire: the Gate of Gad Pembrokeshire

The Gate of Asher, Carnarvonshire the Gate of Issachar Brecknokshire

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The Gate of Zebulun, in Anglesea & Sodor. so is Wales divided.

The Gate of Joseph, Denbighshire: the Gate of Benjamin Glamorganshire

For the protection of the Twelve Emanations of Albions Sons

And the Forty Counties of England are thus divided in the Gates

Of Reuben Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex. Simeon Lincoln, York Lancashire

Levi. Middlesex Kent Surrey. Judah Somerset Glouster Wiltshire.

Dan. Cornwall Devon Dorset, Napthali., Warwick Leicester Worcester

Gad. Oxford Bucks Harford. Asher, Sussex Hampshire Berkshire

Issachar, Northampton Rutland Nottgham. Zebulun Bedford Huntgn Camb

Joseph Stafford Shrops Heref. Benjamin, Derby Cheshire Monmouth;

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And Cumberland Northumberland Westmoreland & Durham are

Divided in the Gates of Reuben, Judah Dan & Joseph

And the Thirty-six Counties of Scotland, divided in the Gates

Of Reuben Kincard Haddntn Forfar, Simeon Ayr Argyll Banff

Levi Edinburh Roxbro Ross. Judah, Abrdeen Berwik Dumfries

Dan Bute Caitnes Clakmanan. Napthali Nairn Invernes Linlithgo

Gad Peebles Perth Renfru. Asher Sutherlan Sterling Wigtoun

Issachar Selkirk Dumbartn Glasgo. Zebulun Orkney Shetland Skye

Joseph Elgin Lanerk Kinros. Benjamin Kromarty Murra Kirkubriht

Governing all by the sweet delights of secret amorous glances

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In Enitharmons Halls builded by Los & his mighty Children

All things acted on Earth are seen in the bright Sculptures of

Los’s Halls & every Age renews its powers from these Works

With every pathetic story possible to happen from Hate or

Wayward Love & every sorrow & distress is carved here

Every Affinity of Parents Marriages & Friendships are here

In all their various combinations wrought with wondrous Art

All that can happen to Man in his pilgrimage of seventy years

Such is the Divine Written Law of Horeb & Sinai:

And such the Holy Gospel of Mount Olivet & Calvary:

PLATE 17

His Spectre divides & Los in fury compells it to divide:

To labour in the fire, in the water, in the earth, in the air,

To follow the Daughters of Albion as the hound follows the scent

Of the wild inhabitant of the forest, to drive them from his own:

To make a way for the Children of Los to come from the Furnaces

But Los himself against Albions Sons his fury bends, for he

Dare not approach the Daughters openly lest he be consumed

In the fires of their beauty & perfection & be Vegetated beneath

Their Looms, in a Generation of death & resurrection to forgetfulness

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They wooe Los continually to subdue his strength: he continually

Shews them his Spectre: sending him abroad over the four points of heaven

In the fierce desires of beauty & in the tortures of repulse! He is

The Spectre of the Living pursuing the Emanations of the Dead.

Shuddring they flee: they hide in the Druid Temples in cold chastity:

Subdued by the Spectre of the Living & terrified by undisguisd desire.

For Los said: Tho my Spectre is divided: as I am a Living Man

I must compell him to obey me wholly: that Enitharmon may not

Be lost: & lest he should devour Enitharmon: Ah me!

Piteous image of my soft desires & loves: O Enitharmon!

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I will compell my Spectre to obey: I will restore to thee thy Children.

No one bruises or starves himself to make himself fit for labour!

Tormented with sweet desire for these beauties of Albion

They would never love my power if they did not seek to destroy

Enitharmon: Vala would never have sought & loved Albion

If she had not sought to destroy Jerusalem; such is that false

And Generating Love: a pretence of love to destroy love:

Cruel hipocrisy unlike the lovely delusions of Beulah:

And cruel forms, unlike the merciful forms of Beulahs Night

They know not why they love nor wherefore they sicken & die

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Calling that Holy Love: which is Envy Revenge & Cruelty

Which separated the stars from the mountains: the mountains from Man

And left Man, a little grovelling Root, outside of Himself.

Negations are not Contraries: Contraries mutally Exist:

But Negations Exist Not: Exceptions & Objections & Unbeliefs

Exist not: nor shall they ever be Organized for ever & ever:

If thou separate from me, thou art a Negation: a meer

Reasoning & Derogation from me, an Objecting & cruel Spite

And Malice & Envy: but my Emanation, Alas! will become

My Contrary: O thou Negation, I will continually compell

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Thee to be invisible to any but whom I please, & when

And where & how I please, and never! never! shalt thou be Organized

But as a distorted & reversed Reflexion in the Darkness

And in the Non Entity: nor shall that which is above

Ever descend into thee: but thou shalt be a Non Entity for ever

And if any enter into thee, thou shalt be an Unquenchable Fire

And he shall be a never dying Worm, mutually tormented by

Those that thou tormentest, a Hell & Despair for ever & ever.

So Los in secret with himself communed & Enitharmon heard

In her darkness & was comforted: yet still she divided away

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In gnawing pain from Los’s bosom in the deadly Night;