David Wagner "Clouds"
"I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud"
by William Wordsworth
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 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.
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.
____________________________________________________
I believe in some distant past I read this poem. It feels familiar to me, sounds familiar when I read it aloud. I wonder if the speaker dreamed about these flowers or if they actually saw them. The reference to being a cloud makes it seem like the speaker was having an out of body experience or that they feel the only way nature can be fully appreciated is by the vantage point of something else in nature.
I think the words used, such as "Shine, twinkle, dance, and bliss", all throughout the poem are what make the poem so "familiar" feeling. The words and tone add to the happy tone and beautiful imagery. Also, Wordsworth used a images that are widely known, such as the milky way and the shore of a bay, as well as the prominent image of an ever extending field of daffodils.
I like the idea presented that the speaker did not know what "wealth" they had received in being able to see the scene that they did. This seems often true in real life. You see something beautiful, swear to yourself that you will not forget it, then time passes and it is out of mind, until you are sitting quietly, maybe in need of a little boost.
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