William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floarts on high o'er vales and hills
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, bencath 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
Alone 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
Outdid 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,
The flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude
And then my heart with pleasure fills
And dances with the daffodils.