Daily (Song of Normalcy; Song of Chaos)

After William Blake’s “A Divine Image” in Song of Innocence; Song of Experience

Daily (Song of Normalcy)

For Average, Humdrum, Smiles, and Rest, Is routine for us most; And Average, Humdrum, Smiles, and Rest, Is human, our constant post.

For Average is a mortal want; Humdrum, a mortal need; And Smiles, the mortal face unlocked And Rest the mortal seed.

Daily (Song of Chaos)

Anxious has a mortal want, And Panic a mortal need; Cringe the mortal face unlocked, And Terror the mortal seed.

The mortal seed is laced macabre, The mortal face a plastic cloak, The mortal need a selfish haste, The mortal want itself does choke.

Here are Blake’s original lines:

THE DIVINE IMAGE (Song of Innocence)

For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love, Is God our Father dear; And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love, Is man, His child and care.

For Mercy has a human heart; Pity, a human face; And Love, the human form divine: And Peace the human dress.

THE DIVINE IMAGE (Song of Experience)

Cruelty has a human heart, And Jealousy a human face; Terror the human form divine, And Secrecy the human dress.

The human dress is forgèd iron, The human form a fiery forge, The human face a furnace sealed, The human heart its hungry gorge.

Thank you to David S. and Dead Poets Live for the prompt!

©DEF, 2020

D. E. Fulford is a full-time university writing instructor and part-time educational editor. Her Medium writing focuses (mostly) on love, overcoming adversity, pain, and giving anti-advice about writing. She is the editor of Get Inside, a publication seeking new writers presenting a first person perspective on, well, most anything. If you’d like to read more, please visit and follow her blog. Thank you for reading!