In Harvest

10.27.2011


In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.
Drive your cart and your plow over the bones of the dead.
The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.
Prudence is a rich ugly old maid courted by Incapacity.
He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence.
The cut worm forgives the plow.
Dip him in the river who loves water.
A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.
He whose face gives no light, shall never become a star.
Eternity is in love with the productions of time.
The busy bee has no time for sorrow.
The hours of folly are measur'd by the clock, but of wisdom: no clock can measure.

-William Blake

27 comments:

  1. Love the Hallowe'en-ness of your pic. And this passage by Blake, amazing.

    Love you .... xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ahhhh! I just started putting all of my alter things together tonight and then came here. I love this time of year. Everything is golden. BEAUTIFUL photo. Are those ornaments new this year? I'm crazy about them. Wow. Wow. Wow.

    And so true: "The busy bee has no time for sorrow"

    xoxoxoxoxo.

    ReplyDelete
  3. oh, and when I saw Wow, I mean....

    are they for sale?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ah, El Dia de los Muertos..
    very fine altar youse assembled.

    ReplyDelete
  5. He whose face gives no light shall never become a star. Wow, I need to read up on some classical literature. Beautiful poem. Scary pumpkin!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Those DOTD ornaments are wonderful! I love the lighting in that picture - and the happy/scary smiles. Blake, well, he's a little dour first thing in the morning. Maybe after coffee. ;) xo

    ReplyDelete
  7. My friend in Australia would love those day of the dead ornaments! Great choice of poem to match the picture too.
    Dan
    -x-

    ReplyDelete
  8. this poem by Blake is from the LONG poem/book "the marriage of heaven and hell".

    from Wiki:

    In the most famous part of the book, Blake reve
    als the Proverbs of Hell. These display a very different kind of wisdom from the Biblical Book of Proverbs. The diabolical proverbs are provocative and paradoxical. Their purpose is to energise thought. Several of Blake's proverbs have become famous:
    "The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom."

    "The tigers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction"

    Blake explains that,

    "Without Contraries is no progression. Attraction and Repulsion,
    Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary to Human existence.
    From these contraries spring what the religious call Good & Evil.
    Good is the passive that obeys Reason. Evil is the active springing
    from Energy. Good is Heaven. Evil is Hell."


    The book ends with a series of revolutionary prophecies and exhortations, climaxing into a fierce proclamation for the different peoples of the world to break the bonds of religious and political oppression.

    ReplyDelete
  9. All well and good, but why do you have an altar? That's just creepy.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love this. Blake is one of my all-time favorite poets. I'm working on my altar today and am thrilled that this year I can include something from you and Boxer: her Death Rattle and your Maldonado votive. S.B. and I are going to Santisima in Old Town tomorrow (where you bought the votive) to see what's new on the walls, enjoy some hot chocolate and chile, some food, and the festival. I'll be thinking of you guys.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yep, you can dip me in the water:-)

    Haiku Monday's theme is up at the Pond. I'll look forward to your wit
    and your visuals.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Halloween is, if not a celebration of the dark yang of the world's nature, it is an acknowledgement of such. Evils greatest triumph is when it is denied. in the tradition of dia de los muertos, death figures as a totem to remind us to live while we can - death laughs at you as the great equalizer. Devils of papier mache give form to action. Harvest is the scythe cutting the wheat - let art and literature be your guide.

    ReplyDelete
  13. amen, chickie, amen.

    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  14. Willam Blake's Humbled Ghost10/28/2011 2:56 PM

    I suggest you read "The Great Divorce" by CS Lewis which was partially inspired by the "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell". He was a lot better writer than me.

    ReplyDelete
  15. William Blake's Humbled Ghost again10/28/2011 3:01 PM

    Also because Lewis is in Heaven while I am a humbled ghost who's purgatoryish punishment is having to listen to incompetent tenured leftist Literature Professors completely misinterpret much of my work.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Love the Blake, love that photo! Let the dia de los muertos festivities begin!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Humbled Ghost? ah, purgatory? Thas' good!! me an Dante is cheerin'!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Heh--look at these goodies:

    http://www.conviviobookworks.com/pages/Book%20of%20Days%20Catalog%20Dia%20de%20Muertos.html

    ReplyDelete
  19. ghost can be prayed out of Purgatory. Ill light the Archangel for ya

    Ive got that catrina market bag - and the zapata figure. *agrarian revolutionary*

    ReplyDelete
  20. Frankenstein at Ether Capacious--discussion of horror. C'mon on by when ya can.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Ande, what is happening? I have just been signing J. instead of Judith I put so much thought into them. Darn. Mom

    ReplyDelete
  22. Wow, I hadn't read this piece by Blake! I'm not sure I agree with him...but it's very provoking to think about! Happy Halloween!

    ReplyDelete
  23. deborah: i dont think you are meant to agree with him - these are the proverbs of hell - there is reason to them - action to them. that is the nature of it - its almost right. Be advised - devils are cunning.

    ReplyDelete
  24. What will they say when they see the words written over and over again on your blogs.
    From " FUCK U" to " HARVEST" to "RECIPES" and
    " CHOCOLATE"?
    And now chickory is actually the CHENANT with CHENES?
    And you had the FOCK ROOMS with the ANIMEL LISTS
    Ad the QUARRY LANES?
    And on top of it all, with the PAINIZE and the CROOLS, you had the PTY LTD and the COWSCULA and the MOOMEN of BLACK PLANETS?
    And even more there were the COCHONS and the SCOMPO along with the SEMPOU and you culled and you culled and you culled.
    And you had your orders and you had your ads and you had your shipments and " GRAVEYARD CELEBRATIONS"?
    Try and tell one person you didn't mean it and don't forget to add the " looooooooooooove".

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

 

© chickory All rights reserved . Design by Blog Milk Powered by Blogger