March 28, 2007

Daffodils

A house with daffodils in it is a house lit up,
whether or no the sun be shining outside.

~ A.A. Milne


Daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty.
~William Shakespeare


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 in 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.
~William Wordsworth


When we were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow park we saw a few daffodils close to the waterside... But as we went along there were more and yet more and at last under the boughs of the trees, we saw that there was a long belt of them along the shore, about the breadth of a country turnpike road. I never saw daffodils so beautiful they grew about the mossy stones about and about them, some rested their heads upon these stones as on a pillow for weariness and the rest tossed and reeled and danced and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind that blew upon them over the lake.
~ Dorothy Wordsworth


The daffodil is our doorside queen;
She pushes upward the sword already,
To spot with sunshine the early green.
~William Cullen Bryant

12 comments:

  1. Am I right to assume these were taken recently? :<) Really, really beautiful. And nice verse as well. Lovely post, Les.

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  2. Nan - Yes, I took the first two today and the last two this past weekend.

    Thank you for your nice compliment. It was a fun post to put together.

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  3. My favorite poem and one of my favorite flowers. Gorgeous.

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  4. Oh, how spring-y! Daffodils haven't even broken ground here. We're still struggling with the browny beige post-winter blahs; although as I stood coffee in hand at the kitchen window this morning, I noticed the beginnings of buds forming on the maple tree.

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  5. So beautiful! And I love the poetry too.

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  6. So bright and sunny!! I love daffodils. Ours have already dried up and died. What happened to spring indeed. I'm afraid we're skipping it and heading straight into summer! :(

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  7. Nancy - Same here. I've always loved the poem and since moving to Nebraska, daffodils have been one of my all-time favorite flowers. I love tulips, too, but their blooms don't last quite as long.

    Marcia - We must be a few weeks ahead of you (and a month or so ahead of Nan!).It's cool and rainy/drizzly here today, but I don't mind. Anything but snow!

    Chris - Thank you. I'm enjoying your blog, by the way.

    Heather - Wow, you are on your way into summer already, aren't you?! I thought our daffs were up early, but yours are already finished. Won't be long before the mosquitos arrive. ;)

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  8. A perfect spring post! :)

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  9. Thanks, Nat. It's been a lovely spring, thus far. We've even had some nice rainshowers this past week, so everything is really sparkly green. I'm enjoying it.

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  10. Anonymous9:34 AM

    Though it is accused as being simple, that is probably my favorite Wordsworth poem. Thank you! I bought some daffodils on Easter, and the opened up so beautifully; if only they lasted longer.

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  11. I tend to like "simple" poems. Too many are too convoluted and "deep" for my taste. I agree. I wish daffodils lasted longer. At least they do better (in duration) than tulips. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  12. I am happy to see many are as obsessed with daffodils as I am :)
    That poem is my all time fav!

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