A Poison Tree by William Blake

I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.


And I waterd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.


And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine.


And into my garden stole.
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see,
My foe outstretchd beneath the tree.

Summery

Blake's " A Poison Tree " is a simple poem with a great message. The ' poison tree ' is a metophar for anger. Stifling of 'sinful' feelings like anger and hatred will not help one to conquere these emotions. The more one suppresses the more they grow. We are told to love our neighbours as ourselves. When the neighbour happens to be our enemy, we belive, we have the right to hate him/her. It is common knowledge that love begets love hatred begets hatred. What is required is a will to resolve hatred through openness and understanding.

In the poem " A Poison Tree " the poet describes an instance of becoming angry with his friend and a foe/an enemy. To his friend the poet expressed his anger while he concealed his anger with his enemy. As a result it began to grow. The poet watered his tree of anger with tears everyday. He hid his hatred behind smiles.

The tree of anger began to grow day and night until this poison tree bore a fruit. When his enemy saw the fruit shining he understood that it was the result of his anger. Oneday the enemy entered the garden and ate the fruit. It lead to his death.

The poet stresses the importance of being free and open in our day to day life. As a good human being the open attitude will help him/her to be a better person in life.