Poetry meme - of course!

[primsong]

Gacked from many others, what a wonderful thought!

When you see this, post some poetry in your journal.

THERE was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight,
To me did seem
Apparelled in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.
It is not now as it hath been of yore;--
Turn wheresoe'er I may,
By night or day,
The things which I have seen I now can see no more.

The Rainbow comes and goes,
And lovely is the Rose,
The Moon doth with delight
Look round her when the heavens are bare,
Waters on a starry night
Are beautiful and fair;
The sunshine is a glorious birth;
But yet I know, where'er I go,
That there hath past away a glory from the earth.

...

And O, ye Fountains, Meadows, Hills, and Groves,
Forebode not any severing of our loves!
Yet in my heart of hearts I feel your might;
I only have relinquished one delight
To live beneath your more habitual sway.
I love the Brooks which down their channels fret,
Even more than when I tripped lightly as they;
The innocent brightness of a new-born Day
Is lovely yet;
The Clouds that gather round the setting sun
Do take a sober colouring from an eye
That hath kept watch o'er man's mortality;
Another race hath been, and other palms are won.
Thanks to the human heart by which we live,
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears,
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.

- from Intimations on Immortality by Wordsworth, one of my 'very favoritest' poems ever.

Comments

My Favorite Wordsworth Poem

[kimbys-place.livejournal.com]

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.

Re: My Favorite Wordsworth Poem

[primsong.livejournal.com]

Wordsworth is an interesting poet to read partly because his works can span such a wide range, from things that are almost childishly simplistic to great depths - and I love his frequent eye for nature. Thank for for the daffodils - this was the first Wordsworth I ever knew, a part of a child's anthology that was my "teddy-book" when I was young. ((((Kimby))))

[lin4gondor.livejournal.com]

That's amazing! It's fascinating how he can look at mortality with such regret, and yet not sound hopeless or particularly sad about it.

[primsong.livejournal.com]

The poem is really quite long - this is simply the first section and the last, as they are also my favorite parts of it. He rambles a bit about a happy, innocent shepherd boy and I think it stumbles slightly through that portion but I love the rest of it, partly because of this bittersweet look at life's passing, that knows something has been lost but that something better is also coming.

Humanity

[my-cocoon.livejournal.com]

Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.

ty Prim for sharing that.

Re: Humanity

[primsong.livejournal.com]

Isn't that a beautiful ending line? The poet's heart, all in one phrase.

Re: Humanity

[my-cocoon.livejournal.com]

I think it says all that I have ever held within or tried to express openly.
I had never taken the time to read it before this day.

Thank you again,
Ever your servant,
Ada

[samarra.livejournal.com]

How lovely! Thank you for sharing that. (((Prim)))