Nature’s Company

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 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.

Why am I so attracted to the image of dancing daffodils?  I immediately see their rich yellow color which steals our eyes from the sun.  Perhaps, it is the easiness of the poem’s rhyme or it is because we’ve all seen a cluster or “crowd” of flowers swaying in the wind.  When writing poetry, I know I’ve been told not to write that flowers dance because that would be cliche, but how does Wordsworth make that personification feel alive and fresh?

Each time I read this poem, which is one of my favorites, I forget that the narrator makes himself one with nature from the start of the poem.  He places himself in the sky above the dancing daffodils as a cloud.  As a liminal narrator, he gets to see earth’s beauty in the stars and by the lake.  He records the playfulness of the daffodils as they rival the waves.

I happen to love when a poet acknowledges himself or the act of writing in a poem and Wordsworth does just that.  He writes about a familiar experience of not realizing how impactful a memory really is while in the moment.  It is when he is in the bliss of solitude that he recalls the beautiful and ordinary sight of the daffodils.  Wordsworth is able to capture the strangeness of time and of feeling by writing about recalling a memory.  Although the beginning of the poem is written in the past tense, it feels like the present as soon as he states, “when all at once.”  I am too transported high in the clouds.  The complexity of human emotions is described as the poet is both both lonely and content with solitude.  Wordsworth seems to offer a solution for those who are lonely, which is to look onto your memories which are always present to fill a “vacant” mind.

I especially love how whole the poem feels as it returns to the daffodils.  There is a reason why so many writers use nature as their subject.  It helps to express our innermost feelings and this poem reminds me how inspirational nature can be.  Next time I take a walk or feel alone, I will be sure to take a moment to gaze upon the clouds or watch the grass sway as a reminder that we are never truly alone.  We are surrounded by the life of the natural world, which we all stop and see.

I decided to write my own poem, as I was inspired by Wordsworth’s poem, in which I discuss love, nature, memories, and poetry.

 

Poem for Him and You

 

I’m glad I found you when I did

For those heavy breaths

And sweaty palms

Would have been left

In the autumn wind.

 

I’m glad I found you when I did

For I would have forgotten

How it felt

To ride with the clouds

And blush like the bricks.

 

I’m glad I found you when I did

For I couldn’t have caught

The warmth you brought

Through quiet phone calls

Like blowing on weeds

And placing the seeds

In the letters you wrote.

 

I’m glad I still have you

And those memories you bring

Which squeeze into these words

Which only you and I know

Are best written

in rhyme and pace.

 

-Stephanie Montalti