This specific poem left my heart weeping definitely at the end when Blake says, "And be like him and he will then love me." I understand that racism was part of society in Blake's time, but Blake takes racism to a completely new level in "And I am black, but O! my soul is white.." From what I've understood in history, this is a time period where society believed God was white and that whites were a superior race. In this culture, this little black boy believes himself to be below a white (English) boy. He continues this kind of thought in, "But I am black as if bereav'd of light." Bereaved means deprived of a loved one through profound absence. Light was also used as a reference to God's presence in this time. So I take this line to mean he believes he is black because he lacks God's presence in his life because he is not loved as much by God. Now, I am not sure if this line of thought or translation is correct in anyway, so please correct me if I'm wrong! But this line of thought truly breaks my heart. God created all humankind, so all races, and He loves them equally. So as I read this poem, compassion overwhelmed me at the thought of a young child's confidence in God being destroyed.
P.S. I commented on Hannah Seteney!
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