A Little Boy Lost

-William Blake

Nought loves another as itself
Nor venerates another so.
Nor is it possible to Thought
A greater than itself to know:

And Father, how can I love you,
Or any of my brothers more?
I love you like the little bird
That picks up crumbs around the door.

The Priest sat by and heard the child.
In trembling zeal he siez'd his hair:
He led him by his little coat:
And all admir'd the Priestly care.

And standing on the altar high,
Lo what a fiend is here! said he:
One who sets reason up forjudge
Of our most holy Mystery.

The weeping child could not be heard.
The weeping parents wept in vain:
They strip'd him to his little shirt.
And bound him in an iron chain.

And burn'd him in a holy place,
Where many had been burn'd before:
The weeping parents wept in vain.
Are such things done on Albions shore.

I especially like the part of the poem that is highlighted in italics.

I love you like the little bird
That picks up crumbs around the door.

My intepretation is such: Where this little boy is compared to a bird, who loves his father in heaven unconditionally. The boy seeks to express a love that is universal and not self-seeking. The boy's speech about love indicates the child's innocence. The crumbs in essence, represent things that have been bestowed upon him by God.

I find this part of the poem similar is to "God Gave a Loaf to Every Bird" by Emily Dickenson.

"Too happy in my sparrow chance
For ampler coveting."

Emily Dickenson uses a Sparrow, to which I believe is a bird that is perceived to not possess much in terms of worldly wealth but yet, is content with what it has. Similarly, I believe that the boy in the poem above is likened to a Sparrow.

The tragedy of the boy's innocence is that his innocence, has broken the sanctity of the Church. Through the boy's usage of reasoning, he was asserting his right to a mild form of egoism. Yet, the priest regarded his actions as an insult to the religious mystery, God, and was thus burnt as a heretic.

What appears strange to me is that, the people in the church simply sat around and let the murder blatantly take place. Even the boy's parents allowed such a travesty to take place. Was it because the fear the boy's parents held was stronger than the love they had for their him? Or was it because they truly believed that their child was indeed a heretic? Such is the power of influence religion holds to guide the moral and religious values of individuals.