"To the Evening Star"

THOU fair-hair'd angel of the evening,

Now, whilst the sun rests on the mountains, light

Thy bright torch of love; thy radiant crown

Put on, and smile upon our evening bed!

Smile on our loves, and while thou drawest the

Blue curtains of the sky, scatter thy silver dew

On every flower that shuts its sweet eyes

In timely sleep. Let thy west wind sleep on

The lake; speak silence with thy glimmering eyes,

And wash the dusk with silver. Soon, full soon,

Dost thou withdraw; then the wolf rages wide,

And then the lion glares through the dun forest:

The fleeces of our flocks are cover'd with

Thy sacred dew: protect them with thine influence!

                This is the first time I have seen this poem and I was reading it and It was making me think of someone who had just passed. Their family wanting them to live life up in the sky but wanting them to look after them and make sure they stay safe. The first line, in my opinion resembles someone different every evening, meaning someone new is looking after their family and friends every night. While reading this in my head I think “is Blake resembling the dead, lighting the sky with love?” After reading some reviews I have seen that Blake may be referring this to love. The star being the planet Venus, which is the goddess of love. Maybe Blake is connecting death and love into one thing, trying to say that with every death the love builds stronger. “Blue curtains of the sky, scatter thy silver dew” a interpretation I have is, Blake wants the passed loved ones to make the world bright with love by covering the grey skies and switch them with bright blue skies to show the love and brighten the world. “Smile on our loves, and while thou drawest the” is he saying that he wants the dead to smile every time they are loved? As I see it, he is trying to say that every time someone feels the love they have for them, the person that may be gone will smile and feel the same love. As I read this poem I don’t understand what Blake is trying to say. I am confused on what the message is that he is trying to send through this poem.