The Garden of Love

I went to the Garden of Love, And saw what I never had seen; A Chapel was built in the midst, Where I used to play on the green. And the gates of this Chapel were shut And „Thou shalt not,“ writ over the door; So I turned to the Garden of Love That so many sweet flowers bore.And I saw it was filled with graves, And tombstones where flowers should be; And priests in black gowns were walking their rounds, And binding with briars my joys and desires.

William Blake (1757–1827)