The Daffodils

.... 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 neverending 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 to me the show 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.

This is my favourite poem because it is most romantic, and I love daffodils. It was inspired in 1802 when Wordsworth was walking with his sister (in Ullswater, Lake District), written in 1804, first published in 1807 and revised in 1815. The above is the revised poem. Of course this poem is more popularly known entitled I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, but I chose the alternative title of The Daffodils.

My Daffodils... until I can take a better photo... (CNB 1978)