The Sick Rose

by William Blake

A complete poem from Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Original wording and verse line breaks are preserved.

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Poetry Classic literature Songs of Innocence and of Experience

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01The Sick Rose~1 min

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O rose, thou art sick! The invisible worm, That flies in the night, In the howling storm, Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy, And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy.

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About this edition

Text source: Project Gutenberg
Author: William Blake
Language: English
Text rights: Public domain — original text
Credit: William Blake, “The Sick Rose”, from Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Original public-domain poem; source Project Gutenberg #1934. This historical edition’s wording is retained. Surrounding anthology, editorial material and illustrations omitted; text reformatted for reading. Source metadata identifies public domain in the USA.

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