No poem, in my mind, captures the love that some of us have for flowers as beautifully as William Wordworth's (1770-1850) "Daffodils" (officially entitled "I wander'd lonely as a cloud"). It, to me, is perfection - it captures the author's first sight of the stunning flowers, describes the daffodils with such precision, and then the poet wraps up his text explaining to us how he can recall those daffodils within his "inward eye" - because they left such an impression - even from his couch. I adore this poem - its clarity, its gentleness, and its vivid descriptiveness. I hope you enjoy it too.
I wander'd lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'ver 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 wave beside them danced; by they
Out-did the sparking 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.
