Spring (Has Sprung)

Beautifully done garden in a house in Williamstown.
The other sights of spring in Williamstown.

"Daffodils" (1804)
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.
By William Wordsworth (1770-1850).

I remember how as schoolkids growing up we were made to learn literature in school. My brother and I were fascinated with the English language, this passion fanned on by the host of good English Literature teachers that we had.

One of the more beautiful poems in memory were from William Wordsworth, a naturalist, who is covered in my latest reading: Alain de Botton's Art of Travel. William Wordsworth was ridiculed in his day for writing about unimportant things such as nature, but his works stood the test of time, and none more fondly remembered than 'Daffodils'.

I think there is much truth in the last stanza - that if we hide these images of these beautiful days in our heart or our minds' eye - then we can call upon them again, be it in a busy day at work, or bored at home, and have our hearts filled again with joy of a day well spent.