DAFFODILS 261 



DAFFODILS 



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 

 Outdid 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. 



