I wandered lonely as a Cloud

by William Wordsworth·1807·Poems, in Two Volumes

william-wordsworth/ #lyric #nature #memory #solitude #1800s

First published in Poems, in Two Volumes (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1807).

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 dancing Daffodills;
Along the Lake, beneath the trees,
Ten thousand dancing in the breeze.

The waves beside them danced, but they
  Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:—
A Poet could not but be gay
  In such a laughing company:
I gaz'd—and gaz'd—but little thought
  What wealth the shew 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.

cd ~