xxxiv
1An Old maid early e'er I knew
Ought but the love that on me grew;
And now I'm cover'd o'er & o'er,
And wish that I had been a Whore.
5O ! I cannot cannot find
The undaunted courage of a Virgin Mind ;
For Early I in love was crost,
Before my flower of love was lost.
MS. Book, p. 100. Printed only by EY, i. 206. The second stanza was originally the first, Blake afterwards renumbering them in their present order.
1 e'er] Read ere. 3 I'm cover'd] I am covered EY.
xxxv
Several Questions Answered
[Eternity]
1.
1He who bends to himself a joy
Doth the winged life destroy ;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in Eternity's sunrise.
MS. Book, p. 99. Under the general title 'Several Questions Answered,' Blake here transcribes hastily in pencil, short pieces, the first drafts of which are written elsewhere in the MS. Book. The original order of pieces was
4, 2, 3, 1, 5, the revised sequence being indicated by Blake's usual marginal figures. None of Blake's editors print these fragments together. Title incorrectly given in EY's Index (i. 206) as ' Questions answered (again).'
1-4 He . . . sunrise] First written on p. 105 with title ' Eternity.' Printed by DGR and later edd. with the title 'Opportunity,' as the first stanza of xxvii, the first draft of which immediately precedes it, on p. 105 of the MS. Book. 2 Doth] Does MS. Book, p. 105 and all edd.: winged] winged WMR, EY, WBY. 3 kisses] just kisses MS. Book, p. 105 1st rdg. del.
Eternity's] an eternal MS. Book, p. 105 1st rdg. del.
