Among his other works, 19th century poet and painter William Blake published two thoughtful books of poetry.The first of these is called "Songs of Innocence." It is a series of poems that centers on children and their thoughts. Listen to the words of his poem The Lamb:
Little lamb, who made thee?
Does thou know who made thee,
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed
By the stream and o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little lamb, who made thee?
Does thou know who made thee?
What, after all, is more innocent than a lamb? For starters, maybe a small child talking to a lamb.
And that's just what Blake wants us to see.
A lot of us so-called "grown-ups" might not be comfortable with such innocence. Maybe such daydreaming is a waste of time. Maybe the child will hurt himself. Maybe the lamb has "hoof-and-mouth" disease. At the very least, we call it "naivete" and move on.
Yet can we really move on? Do we really want to? What is it about innocence that drives us crazy sometimes?
Maybe we are afraid of looking stupid. Maybe we are afraid of missing the next big thing. But maybe it's just us being bitter that so much of our own innocence has been dissipated, washed away by the heavy rains of living. If we cannot have it, then why should anyone?
If nothing else, innocence was humanity's very first state of existence. It was good and pure. And no matter how far we are from that primaeval state, we all carry a deep connection to it.
Which is why I think any loss of innocence is a loss for us all.
4 comments:
Pretty hopeless ending there, Josh.
Let me tell you: "Innocence" can be lost . . . and regained. The worst sinner can find that, au fond, it (any "it") was always meant to be. Any terrible (and good, too, of course) experience is a gift from God. We are put in those circumstances in order for us to try and try and try and learn and fail and try and fail and finally give up and realize that God is The Whole One after all.
And having been down the wrong road and having found the depths of our own weakness and having found that in God is the only true strength... To my mind, that's an Informed Innocence, and at least as valuable as the Innocence of a little child, who is unsullied by Life.
So then, better to have fallen in Eden and been redeemed than never to have fallen at all? It's an interesting thought, but did it have to be that way?
Whether or not it had to be that way, that's the way it happened.
I was addressing the original "fall" less than the everyday fall experienced by each of us of every ilk.
Some innocences ought never to be lost. I just have to stand by that.
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