I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD by William Wordsworth I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high over 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 outdid the sparkling waves in glee.
A poet could not but be gay in such a joke and 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 take a pause from the letter and look across to where loneliness lay sleeping on the couch.
Without disturbing her,
I tiptoe,
Put my shoes on and get out of the house.
Reading William Wordsworth and Mary Oliver before has inspired me to connect with my surroundings,
With the bounty and beauty that is,
In some way,
Always here supporting and nourishing us.
I will see you after my walk on day five.
