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 leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but 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.
When I was in grade school, I was fortunate to have a teacher who loved poetry and hymns, and thus insisted that we did too. We memorized a lot of poems, sometimes the whole poem, and sometimes just a verse or two. I think we only had to memorize the first verse of Daffodils, but the other three are familiar to me also, especially the last, so maybe we learned the whole thing.
1 comment:
What a neat poem and wonderful teacher to encourage your education. Our daffodils are everywhere and just so pretty. I think this year we might split them and start speading them into more places. I do enjoy seeing them and reminding me that Spring is knocking at the door!
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