I wander thro' each charter'd street,
Near where the charter'd Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
In every cry of every man,
In every Infant's cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forg'd manacles I hear.
How the Chimney-sweeper's cry
Every blackning Church appalls;
And the hapless Soldier's sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls.
But most thro' midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlot's curse
Blasts the new-born Infant's tear,
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.
 

Poems by This Author

America, a Prophecy, Plates 3 and 4 by William Blake
The Guardian Prince of Albion burns in his nightly tent
A Divine Image by William Blake
Cruelty has a Human heart
A Poison Tree by William Blake
I was angry with my friend:
Ah! Sunflower by William Blake
Ah! sunflower, weary of time
Auguries of Innocence by William Blake
To see a world in a grain of sand
Cradle Song by William Blake
Sleep, sleep, beauty bright
Eternity by William Blake
He who binds to himself a joy
Holy Thursday by William Blake
Is this a holy thing to see
Infant Joy by William Blake
I have no name
Love's Secret by William Blake
Never seek to tell thy love
Milton [excerpt] by William Blake
And did those feet in ancient time
Proverbs of Hell by William Blake
In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy
The Angel that presided 'oer my birth by William Blake
The Angel that presided 'oer my birth
The Chimney-Sweeper by William Blake
When my mother died I was very young,
The Divine Image by William Blake
To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,
The Fly by William Blake
Little fly
The Lamb by William Blake
Little lamb, who made thee?
The Question answerd by William Blake
What is it men in women do require
The Sick Rose by William Blake
O Rose, thou art sick
The Tyger by William Blake
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
To Autumn by William Blake
O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained


Further Reading

Related Poems
A London Thoroughfare. 2 A.M.
by Amy Lowell
A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London
by Dylan Thomas
London Snow
by Robert Bridges