My Pretty Rose Tree

William Blake(1757–1827)

Songs of Innocence and of Experience, 1794

A flower was offered to me,Such a flower as May never bore;But I said, ‘I’ve a pretty rose tree,’And I passed the sweet flower o’er.

Then I went to my pretty rose tree,To tend her by day and by night;But my rose turned away with jealousy,And her thorns were my only delight.

From Songs of Innocence and of Experience, via the English Wikisource transcription (1826 edition).

Public domainThis poem is in the public domain. You may read it, copy it, recite it and publish it without asking anyone.