I went to the garden of love

by William Blake

For works with similar titles, see The Garden of Love.

Blake's manuscript: "I went to the garden of love..."

 * * *

I went to the Garden of Love,
And I 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;
[And del.] So I turn'd to the garden of love
That so many sweet flowers bore;

And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tomb stones where flowers should be;
And priests in black gounds were walking their rounds,
And binding with briars my joys & desires.