I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
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.
               ~~William Wordsworth


Hi,  Happy Spring~~

Spring is about renewal, new life.  Hope is reborn.   Funny, it's hard to find a Spring poem without it being about flowers or with a referral to flowers somewhere in the poem.  Daffodils, lilac, and here in California, poppies are in full bloom right now.  The fields are blanketed with color.  Delicate blossoms tentatively open in orchards across the land.  Spring inspires by virtue of the vibrant colors, the newness that springs up everywhere you look.   Poets have long tried to capture its message.

The Reverdie (Old French - re-greening) is a genre of verse from the Middle Ages that welcomed the arrival of Spring. It celebrates the new green of the fields, the return of the birds singing and the traditional time of love. Emphasis is on the diminutive or small things. Often Spring would be symbolized by a young maiden, similar to the Irish Aisling in which a woman symbolizing Ireland described her plight. 

With Spring comes Easter and some poets use the genre to celebrate the resurrection comparing the coming of Spring with the longing for heaven or using the verse to praise of the Virgin Mary. Later Occitan troubadours extended the genre to the coming of other seasons. The frame is at the discretion of the poet. However, poets have often used the frame of the Chanson in 5 or 6 stanzas without refrain.

Take a walk where ever you may be, breathe in the flowers and welcome Spring with your own poem.

Have a happy Spring day,     Tinker aka Judi Van Gorder

I smile
when the daffodils bloom,
Spring's happy face.
                            ~jvg