Laughing Song
When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy,
And the dimpling stream runs laughing by;
When the air does laugh with our merry wit,
And the green hill laughs with the noise of it;
when the meadows laugh with lively green,
And the grasshopper laughs in the merry scene,
When Mary and Susan and Emily
With their sweet round mouths sing "Ha, ha he!"
When the painted birds laugh in the shade,
Where our table with cherries and nuts is spread:
Come live, and be merry, and join with me,
To sing the sweet chorus of "Ha, ha, he!"
Notes
Where Derek Walcott’s Love After Love framed the banquet as a quiet, introspective sacrament of self-reconciliation, William Blake’s Laughing Song bursts outdoors into an exuberant, pastoral chorus where green woods, dimpling streams, and merry voices sing in uninhibited harmony. The joyful gathering around cherries and nuts reveals how uncorrupted innocence dissolves the rigid boundary between humanity and nature, demonstrating that true celebration arises when the ego steps aside and joins the spontaneous, laughing vitality of the living earth. It infuses August’s theme of Feast with sweet, radiant delight, reminding us that the season’s most bountiful spread is found not in heavy decadence, but in the pure, shared laughter that welcomes everyone to the open table. #poetry #williamblake #feast #august #laughingsong
