THE LITTLE VAGABOND

Sat, 07/25/2026 - 11:52

William Blake (1757-1827), the English poet and painter, respected both for his idiosyncratic views and his expressiveness often tainted with mysticism, has two headstones. One, pictured here, indicates he and his wife were buried "nearby," and the second, unveiled as late as 2018, stands at the exact location. Both are in the small Bunhill Fields cemetery in London

photography by Anthony Georgieff

Dear mother, dear mother, the church is cold,
But the ale-house is healthy and pleasant and warm;
Besides I can tell where I am used well,
Such usage in Heaven will never do well.

But if at the church they would give us some ale,
And a pleasant fire our souls to regale,
We'd sing and we'd pray all the live-long day,
Nor ever once wish from the church to stray.

Then the parson might preach, and drink, and sing,
And we'd be as happy as birds in the spring;
And modest Dame Lurch, who is always at church,
Would not have bandy children, nor fasting, nor birch.

And God, like a father rejoicing to see
His children as pleasant and happy as he,
Would have no more quarrel with the Devil or the barrel,
But kiss him, and give him both drink and apparel.

Poetry

COMMENTING RULES

Commenting on www.vagabond.bg
Vagabond Media Ltd requires you to submit a valid email to comment on www.vagabond.bg to secure that you are not a bot or a spammer. Learn more on how the company manages your personal information on our Privacy Policy. By filling the comment form you declare that you will not use www.vagabond.bg for the purpose of violating the laws of the Republic of Bulgaria. When commenting on www.vagabond.bg please observe some simple rules. You must avoid sexually explicit language and racist, vulgar, religiously intolerant or obscene comments aiming to insult Vagabond Media Ltd, other companies, countries, nationalities, confessions or authors of postings and/or other comments. Do not post spam. Write in English. Unsolicited commercial messages, obscene postings and personal attacks will be removed without notice. The comments will be moderated and may take some time to appear on www.vagabond.bg.

Add new comment

Discover More

THE SNAKE BRIDE

Once upon a time, there was a young man who set out to seek his fortune. One chill autumn morning, he was walking through the mountains when he came to an old and rotten beech tree that stood in the middle of a web of gnarled roots.

TURBOT SEASON

A film was playing on the tiny screen above the driver – it was about a beautiful woman looking for the right husband and ultimately finding him.

MOTHERS, an excerpt from a novel

ANDREA

FROM FROM THE SKY TO THE EARTH

a summer with its easy winssummer with its plansmade at the drop of a hateveryone’s willingto give in to warmththe holiday is todaylet’s seize itgo through summer’s open doors

SELECTED POETRY

Beginningit’s light out I tell youthere’s still lots moremy beautiful bird

STORY WITH CAKE

This story took place on the New Year’s Eve of my last winter in Bulgaria. Together with my wife and daughter, I greeted 1997 in a rented one-bedroom apartment in a windy, ugly suburb of

LITTLE MONSTIE

There’s someone you have not yet met:He wears three mittens in crimson red.His furry coat – so soft it feels;his socks have holes on all five heels.He’s always hiding in the pantry;

SAINT WOLF, an excerpt from a novel

I. The Eternal City

ADVENTURES IN SQUARELAND, an excerpt from a novel

Chapter Three: The Frogs

WE ARE ALL PAGES, an excerpt

“A RETIRED PEDIATRICIAN LOOKING TO MEET a modest and respectful woman. Dad, are you sure about this ad?”“Seeking to meet sounds better, right?”“Yes, seeking to meet is better, but what I meant was…”

HAIR

She remembered the day she went to the hair salon. She hadn’t dyed her hair in four years, and hadn’t gotten a drastic haircut in three.

ÁNNE

Sometimes, Lola and I would take out a bunch of covers and blankets out on the porch and spend the night under the stars. We arranged them in such a way that only the end of the small awning was above us and then we lay down and gazed at the night sky.