May 7, 2008

Daffodils

Daffodils

I wander'd 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 stretch'd 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 waves in glee:
A poet could not but be 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.

- William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

We are in to days of 20° temperatures now and the spring flower bulbs are coming on strong. Tulips and hyacinth and daffodils everywhere. And male robins staking out their territories with their springtime song.

Did you ever think about what you remember from school, and maybe more importantly, what you don't remember? I find it interesting to contemplate what has stuck in my mind all these years later. I had to memorize the poem 'Daffodils' for Mr. Ciolfi's english class in seventh grade. I still have a particular fondness for it some forty-five years later.

4 comments:

Ms Mac said...

I learned the poem To a Mountain Daisy by Robert Burns (of course) when I was 11 or 12 for a Burns Day. I couldn't possibly reproduce it faithfully now so here's the wiki instead!

April said...

That's nice that New Brunswick is getting some warm summer like weather. I like the Daffodils poem too. I memorized it once not too long ago - not for an assignment, but just for fun because I thought it was so pretty. I can still recall the first stanza, and I enjoyed reading it again in your post. :)

Jennifer said...

haha.... that made me remember "I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me... and what can be the use of him is more than I can see..." Grade school was a long time ago... and I can still recite (most of) this poem!

Erik said...

Fun blog...always loved Wordsworth!