Ah! Sun-Flower - William Blake
/Ah! Sun-Flower - William Blake/
A Yearning for Eternal Blossoming
Original (Line 1): Ah Sun-flower! weary of time,
English (Line 1): Ah Sun-flower, weary of time,
Original (Line 2): Who countest the steps of the Sun;
English (Line 2): Who count the steps of the Sun;
Original (Line 3): Seeking after that sweet golden clime
English (Line 3): Forever seeking that sweet golden clime
Original (Line 4): Where the traveller’s journey is done;
English (Line 4): Where each weary traveler’s journey is done;
Original (Line 5): Where the Youth pined away with desire,
English (Line 5): Where the young one pines away in longing,
Original (Line 6): And the pale Virgin shrouded in snow,
English (Line 6): And the pale Virgin rests, covered in snow,
Original (Line 7): Arise from their graves, and aspire
English (Line 7): Who arise from their graves, aspiring
Original (Line 8): Where my Sun-flower wishes to go.
English (Line 8): To the place the Sun-flower longs to go.
From William Blake’s Ah! Sun-Flower, published in Songs of Experience (1794). This poem is in the public domain.
In William Blake’s “Ah! Sun-Flower,” the central image of a flower weary of time serves as a metaphor for the human soul’s longing to transcend worldly limits. The sunflower, known for following the sun across the sky, is personified here as counting each step of daylight, yearning for an elusive ‘golden clime.’ This radiant land symbolizes a realm beyond mortal hardships, where both youth and virgin transcend the confines of earthly sorrow.
Like many of Blake’s poems in his *Songs of Experience*, “Ah! Sun-Flower” offers a delicate interplay between the natural world and spiritual aspiration. While the sunflower physically roots in earthly soil, its gaze remains fixed on the celestial orb. In this duality, Blake suggests that humanity, too, is caught between temporal weariness and the hope of eternal renewal. By acknowledging the earthly plight of desire and cold isolation, Blake points to a universal longing that unites all—young and old, traveler and the pure of heart.
Ultimately, the poem quietly poses a question about the nature of true fulfillment. Can the soul find rest in an idealized ‘golden clime,’ or is this endless yearning itself a divine spark that draws us closer to higher truths? Rather than delivering a direct conclusion, Blake leaves readers with an image of the flower, forever turning its face toward the promise of the sun.
Key points
1. The sunflower symbolizes the soul’s eternal longing to surpass earthly limits.
2. Imagery of youth and pale virgin underscores universal desires unfulfilled in mortal life.
3. Blake’s poem blends earthly weariness with hope for a radiant spiritual realm.
4. The recurring motif of ‘counting the steps of the Sun’ highlights humanity’s search for transcendence.