威廉·布莱克（William Blake），18世纪末19世纪初英国著名的画家，英国文学史上最复杂、最有个性的诗人之一。布莱克的早期诗歌以颂扬爱情、向往欢乐与和谐为主题。他的诗歌语言质朴，形象鲜明，富有音乐感，充满瑰丽的想象和奔放的热情。后期诗作明显具有神秘主义倾向和宗教色彩，用象征的手法来表达深邃的思想。布莱克生活清贫，靠绘画和雕刻为生，他那富有个人灵念与想象力的恢弘诗篇生前并没有得到承认。英国文学界直到19世纪末才开始意识到他们原来忽略的不仅仅是一位颇有造诣的版画家，而且还是一位诗哲。
在很多年以前，男孩们经常去打扫烟囱。他们得爬到烟囱里面。刮干净煤烟，然后把它们扫走，这可是一项艰苦的工作，而且对身体非常有害。这首诗选自《天真之歌》，进一步表明“天真”是超越官能的感官束缚的关键，这样就赋予天真以深刻的内涵。
The Chimney Sweeper
扫烟囱的小男孩
When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry 'Weep! weep! weep! weep!'
So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.
我母亲死的时候，我还小，
我父亲把我卖给了别人，
我当时还不大喊得清“扫呀，扫呀，”
就这样白天扫你们的烟囱，晚上在烟灰里睡觉。
There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved; so I said,
'Hush, Tom! never mind it, for, when your head's bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair.'
有个小汤姆，头发卷得像羊毛，
剃光的时候，哭得好伤心，好难受，
我就说：“小汤姆，别哭，光了头，
烟灰就不会糟蹋你的头发了。”
And so he was quiet, and that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight!
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.
他平静了下来，当天夜里，
汤姆睡着了，梦见了这样的情景，
迪克、乔、南德，杰克等千千万万个扫烟囱小孩
统统被锁进了黑棺材。
And by came an angel, who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins, and set them all free;
Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing, they run
And wash in a river, and shine in the sun.
后来来了个天使，拿了把金钥匙，
他打开棺材放出了孩子们（真是好天使！）
他们又跳又笑地来到了草地上，
洗浴于河水，晾晒于阳光。
Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind,
And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father, and never want joy.
把工具袋丢下，赤条条的，白白的，
他们升到云端，在风中嬉戏；
“只要你做个好孩子，”天使对汤姆说，
“上帝会做你的父亲，永不缺少欢喜。”
And so Tom awoke, and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags and our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm;
So, if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.
汤姆于是梦醒，我们在黑暗中起床，
拿起工具袋和刷子去干活。
晨风虽冷，汤姆自感心欢温暖；
如果所有人都恪尽职守，就不怕灾难。
