0007: I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud a.k.a. "Daffodils" by William Wordsworth

I think it's beautiful when words can capture your mind and remain in your heart. I, along with countless other people, love this poem which is simply known as "Daffodils". One of my brothers gave it to me one year - while we were teenagers. It was hand written as a "copy" and has been one of the most memorable gifts I’ve ever received - and I’ve received some pretty amazing gifts in my life. I've kept it close and read it often. (And yes, I still have the original "copy" - on yellow lined pad paper :-) 

My brother has always been extremely well read, something I can't quite say I am. Literature and poetry were something I could never really get into. Don't get me wrong, I love to read but the 'serious' stuff never really captured me. Until I got the Daffodils, it opened my mind up to the fact that there were works out there that I could relate to and appreciate. Works that could capture and move me so deeply that I’d have to read them over and over just to hold onto the pure magic of the moment. That magic that gently touches your heart and transports you to new and amazing places - or sometimes to old and familiar ones…    

It’s funny, I could always sense life running by so quickly. Sometimes I’d realize it for a second but then jump back in the race - I was too busy to slow down after all! And “life” takes over and before you know it all you are doing is running. BUT if you are lucky enough to slow down and allow that inward eye to awaken, it usually delivers something beautiful. Like the memory of a teenage girl desperate to unwrap the latest cool clothes and gadgets but then opening a folded piece of paper with a poem written on both sides. Signed “Merry Christmas, Your Big Lil Bro” (he is the youngest of my two older brothers...) that moment took my breath away...

So, "Daffodils" was inspired by an April 15, 1802 event in which Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, came across a "long belt" of daffodils. It was written in 1804 and revised to its current form in 1815. (Read more about this amazing poem in Wikipedia.) So here it is, whether it’s your first read or a familiar read, ENJOY!

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.