Daffodils

God's Warrior · Daffodils

Daffodils
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 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.

God's Warrior

shazbot3
Oh, I haven't read that in years! Thank you for posting it.

Zanymuse
I was in the third grade when I had to memorize this and recite it for open house night. They dressed me in a bright yellow crepe paper dress and I swayed and bobbed so much as I recited it you would have thought I was a daffodill in the wind.

Dad was so proud of me for remembering the poem and Mom was upset that I kept moving so she wasted film trying to get a picture.

Elena
What wonderful memories such poems can bring back to us. I can remember being a flower and swaying in the breeze in a school program also. Dressing kids as flowers and trees must have been a popular thing to do back then. Memorizing poetry and then reciting it was also a big thing. I am amazed when I look back and realize how much I did read and how much of it was poetry back when I was a kid. I guess that can happen to a child when both parents are school teachers, huh? Daddy and Mother were really big on poetry and other great literature and I am glad they exposed me to it as much as they did. I was one of the few kids around who just loved English class. I think the other kids thought I was a bit touched in the head to love it so much.

Zanymuse
Yes, I loved, and still love, English literature, History, poetry and almost anything that uses words. My folks were not teachers but they were and are both avid readers and Dad wrote poems for almost every occasion from things like

Here's the mop
and here's a broom
Now it's time to
clean your room.

to epic poems about God.

Mom was constantly setting up the word of the day so we would expand our vocabulary and gifts were often books.

shazbot3
I give my kids books as gifts, too, Zany. And they always love it. That was a great idea your mom had about the word of the day. I think I may just start that with my kids this summer. Thank you Smile