"O rose, thou art sick! The invisible worm, That flies in the night, In the howling storm, Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy, And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy." The Sick Rose is a short poem by William Blake that was originally published in 1794 within Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794). Blake previously wrote Songs of Innocence in 1789 as a contrary to the Songs of Experience, and later published them both together in juxtaposition. William Blake (1757-1827) was an English poet, painter and printmaker. Largely unrecognized during his lifetime, Blake's work is today considered seminal and significant in the history of both poetry and the visual arts.