I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud by William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
For some reason I am thinking about this poem this foggy morning.
I took a seminar course at A&M on William Wordsworth. It was in an old 60's style building far away from the (really smart kids) engineering & business classes. There was no dining hall or food court near...we had a coffee wagon--literally a coffee cart with gigantic wheels...but, alas, they made my beloved Chai. I would buy a one almost every day (good thing that incredibly out-of-place wild west chuckwagon accepted aggiebucks off of my student id...thanks, Dad.) I would get my chai, wander into this seminar where we sat around a conference table and discuss poetry. Sometimes I would contribute to the discussion and sometimes I would nod along & pretend to know what we were talking about.
I made an A in this class. I think simply because I believed in the poem above. Even though it is one of WW's most famous poems, I chose to write about if for my final paper. Twelve or so pages of how this poem was historically relevant, possible real life location of said daffodils, poetic analysis, etc, etc. Mostly a bunch of hooey...except for the fact that I wrote about what I believed to be the connection to Isaiah 55 & other scripture about nature, praise, worship, & dancing. We know that nature and all God has made is made for His glory. They will dance and sing and clap before Him. I love, love the imagery of the daffodils dancing.
Perhaps next time I'm worshiping with my church family on Saturday nights, I will think "I'm in such jocund company!" (Sorry, nerd moment.)
5 comments:
i love this post.
you are an amazing and wonderful woman.
love.
I'm much less creative. I was thinking of Sanburg's 'Fog." ...The fog creeps in on little cat feet...
Anyhow, this post is adorable. It's nice to know I'm in such literary company. :)
This is how I feel when we get to Lake City every summer! The daffodils and another teeny tiny little yellow flower are about the only thing blooming there in early June, but they scream God's beauty to me...
I love your blog little missy!
Nancy, you are a writer. :)
Carrie, when we go out to eat with those seven boys, you & I can huddle in a corner & discuss poetry & literary whatnot.
Jennifer, when I think about trees clapping their hands, I ALWAYS think of the aspens in LC.
Uh-favorite post ever! I'm certain we were meant to have completed our degrees, and certainly Chai and poetry, together. So thankful to have someone else in my world who loves literature like I do!
I will most certainly be a part of your jocund company crying out in praise!
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