A POISON

TREE
William Blake

Stanza 1
The persona was angry with his friend.
He dealt with his angry feelings and his
anger melted away. He was angry with
his enemy and did not sort it out with
him. He became wrathful.

Stanza 2
The persona fed his angry feelings with
fears and tears daily. He also put on a
friendly front to deceive others about his
anger.

Stanza 3
The angry feelings grew so strongly
inside the persona that it became a
poison tree. The persona compared it to
an apple tree that bore fruit or an apple
bright. The enemy saw the fruit and knew
it belonged to the persona.

Stanza 4
The enemy entered the personas garden
quietly at night when it was dark to steal
the apple. In the morning, the persona
saw his enemy lying on the ground
beneath the tree.