Daffodils
The temperatures have moderated and the sun is getting stronger in the sky. We can't expect a real Spring in Duluth in March but thanks to the Cancer Society we can enjoy daffodils and support a great cause! I wasn't expecting to get my daffodils until Sunday, but on Wednesday evening I had a most pleasant surprise when Sue Beeman delivered my daffodils and the Boyd's Bears I had ordered. The bears are named "Flowers R. Hope" and are a special edition made for the Cancer Society. They are soft and squishy and have a daffodil embroidered on one rear paw pad and the Cancer Society logo on the other. I fell in love with the bear when I saw a picture at the Cancer Society office. I had planned to get one to send my sister-in-law who is a breast cancer survivor. After getting to hold "Flowers" I also had to have one for myself!
I don't remember what year in school it was but I had to memorize, "Daffodils" by William Wordsworth who lived from 1770-1850. I can still recite the first stanza, but I had to look up the poem online to find the rest. In honor of all the daffodils that have been distributed this week I am including the poem in this blog.
Daffodils
I wander'd 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 stretch'd 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.
I thought of this poem when in 1996 we went to the Skagit Valley in Washington State and saw the fields of daffodils that are grown for bulbs and for sale. We were there for the annual Tulip Festival. The tulips were magnificent. The daffodils, however, were at the end of their blooming season. They were not beside a bay but in massive fields.
Daffodils make my heart dance!
I don't remember what year in school it was but I had to memorize, "Daffodils" by William Wordsworth who lived from 1770-1850. I can still recite the first stanza, but I had to look up the poem online to find the rest. In honor of all the daffodils that have been distributed this week I am including the poem in this blog.
Daffodils
I wander'd 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 stretch'd 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.
I thought of this poem when in 1996 we went to the Skagit Valley in Washington State and saw the fields of daffodils that are grown for bulbs and for sale. We were there for the annual Tulip Festival. The tulips were magnificent. The daffodils, however, were at the end of their blooming season. They were not beside a bay but in massive fields.
Daffodils make my heart dance!
posted by Lois at 10:26 AM
1 Comments:
Thank you for the poem Lois, I've never seen it before. I'm so glad you like your "Flowers R. Hope" Bear. I had to buy one for myself too! I also bought one for granddaughter Madelyn. I think she has too many stuffed creatures. I seemed to be more excited over the bear than she was!
Boyd's bears that made our bear originated in McSherrystown, very close to my hometown in Pa. One time I was home, my sister and I went to the Boyd's Bear Outlet. It was something to see! A large new barn with 4 floors of every kind of decorated bear you can imagine. There was even a "Bear nursery", and a "factory" for children to make their own Boyd's bear! If you ever are near Gettysburg, PA you should go to see it! Thanks for your support of Daffodil Days and The American Cancer Society, Lois!
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