‘Twas on a Holy Thursday, their innocent faces clean,
The children walking two and two, a genie in between— Grey-
headed beadles walked before with wands as white as snow,
While thunder, lightning, frightening me, made Some guy’s waters flow.
O what a multitude they seemed, these flowers of London town,
But oops, babies!
I have notes from the under, underground—
The hum of multitudes was there, but multitudes of lambs,
Thousands raising innocent hands, or were there genies’ hands?
Mirror, mirror on my wall, show me who has eyes on you—
The aged men sit beneath the dome, the watchman’s watching too.
A genie, genie in a bottle, djinn or majini from the clouds,
Walking on our grounds like angels in the streets, among the crowds.
Now like a mighty wind they raise to heaven the voice of song,
Bonjour, ewe nanu?
Do genies sing along?
Seated in companies they sit with radiance all their own—
One for you, another for me too, a perfect trinity for just us two.
There is a girl and there is a boy, one black and one white like you,
Sailing down the stream so merry, but now we are three, not two.
The children flow like Thames waters into Paul’s high dome above,
While genies hunt and fish for men with thunder, lightning, and you, my love.
Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door,
Or genie from your clouds who keeps watch when God hears no more.
If I was your genie, three wishes in the sky—
One for the children, two for the watchman’s eye.
Power on, power off, the beadles’ wands held high,
The innocent procession meets the genie in my sky.
Are you God, demon, or djinn?
The children march in red and blue and green,
The cleanest, holiest Thursday that this djinn has ever seen.
Copyright Acknowledgement & Inspiration Statement
This work is an original creative piece inspired by two distinct sources: William Blake’s “Holy Thursday” from Songs of Innocence (1789), which is in the public domain, and the contemporary poem “Genie in my Clouds!” by ATOTO, published at atotoatori.co.ke (2026).
This merged poem is a transformative creative work that reimagines and reinterprets themes from both sources. No copyright infringement is intended.
The original “Genie in my Clouds!” remains the intellectual property of its author, and readers are encouraged to visit the original work at YVIX.
All rights to this derivative work are reserved by the creator of this merged poem.