Happy Poetry Friday! It’s helpful to the spirit to share poems at a time like this.
Michele Kogan is our host today so stop by her website. You will find not only wonderful spring poetry from the recent issue of Michele Heinrich Barnes’ Today’s Little Ditty, but also Michele Kogan’s paintings full of flowers that are sure to take the sting out of current times.
I love daffodils. Many do, of course. In the early 19th century, William Wordsworth took a walk with his sister in England’s Lake District. There, he was inspired by Wild Daffodils to write one of the most well known poems about this stunning yellow flower ever written in the English language.
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.
(Read entire poem here)
But even though I love daffodils, I found that I actually didn’t know any facts about them. The scientific name for the wild daffodil is Narcissus Pseudonarcissus. I grows from a bulb but I was unaware that the flower made seeds that can produce a flowering plant within a decade.
I also didn’t know that the bulb and leaves happen to be poisonous. They contain the alkaloid lycorine which causes nausea and GI distress. According to a BBC report a class of 30 primary school children learned this first hand while they made vegetable soup as a class project. Because a daffodil bulb was mistaken for an onion, 12 kids were sent to the hospital. But the story ended happily. None were seriously ill.
The freedom I feel walking outside is irresistable, especially now. Today I spied daffodils breaking the soil.
Daffodils are ubiquitous here in Upstate New York. That’s because deer do not eat them (because their poisonous?) and with so many deer sharing our space, most gardeners plant flowers that won’t tempt them.
It takes some chutzpah, I think, to break through the soil not knowing what waits on the other side. Today it was clear skies for these dependable, brave, yearly visitors to our world.
Though blind, green shoots crack muddy soil--What's ahead courageous flower?
I hope everyone can get outside in a safe place and enjoy the weekend. Thank you Michelle Kogan for hosting!
That is one of my favorite Wordsworth poems. I had hoped to visit the Lake District when we went to England a couple of years ago, but it didn’t work out. Maybe on my next trip!
Thank you for the copy of AFTER DARK. I received it this week–it is absolutely delightful.
Great! You got it! I really like that book too.
Thanks for the Wordsworth fix. Our daffodils are blooming — the only flowers we can plant because of the deer. I was lucky enough to visit the Lake District years ago and long to go back.
I was there for less than a day passing through. I’d love to walk there. Someday.
My daffodils bloomed this week, but I always watch when they poke up, and then that first peek of yellow means we’re on our way. What happy flowers they are! Thanks for this poetic post with lessons about daffodils. I appreciate it all!
Thank you, Karen. Enjoy your daffodils.
Loved this poem by Wordsworth, reading it and then listening to it too–the flowers bring us so much joy! Nice haiku also, thanks Janice!
I love this: “It takes some chutzpah, I think, to break through the soil not knowing what waits on the other side.” So much truth. My miniature daffodils are just about to bloom…in spite of a 40 degree temperature drop from yesterday! Spring weather is a wild ride!
I’m a fan of daffodils as well, Janice. They are hearty enough “to break through the soil” and to adorn the table in a glass of water – courageous flowers that give us courage, too. Thanks for sharing Wordsworth’s poem and your poem, as well. : )
Thanks, Bridget!
I agree with Mary Lee! I saw this in the morning. I love when the daffodils come our way. In my childhood and I imagine in yours (I know you grew up further south of here), daffodils truly were harbinger of spring and nicer weather. Here, who knows. This is one of my mother’s favorite poems and one that I know by heart thanks to my 3rd graders and my mom. I strongly urge folks to learn at least a few by heart. It is not as hard as one my thought but there are definitely tips. I say this when I need to be cheered. I see pictures in my mind and think of beloved former students helped me learn the poem. It is a bright spot during this pretty grim time. At least it is sunny out today.
I’ve never met anyone who knew as many poems by heart as you! Happy Spring, Janet.
Janice, this is my mother’s favorite poem. I love that you call the daffodil, “courageous flower.”
Thank you, Laura!
The daffodils have a special place in my heart’s eye, too, for their stalwart stems and their wideawake faces with frilly edges. “Let’s do this!” they shout, and I do. Plus, how great a word is DAFFODIL?
May all our hearts dance with daffodils! Love how you’ve portrayed daffodils as courageous (and we can all use some courage now.) Our daffodils have started to poke through, but are being covered with snow as I type.
I do love me some Wordsworth. And daffodils. Thanks so much for sharing all this week, Janice. (“It takes some chutzpah, I think, to break through the soil not knowing what waits on the other side.” – Amen!)
Thanks for sharing the Wordsworth poem–it’s one of my favorite. And I saw my first daffodils this weekend! And I enjoyed your haiku–I’ve been thinking of the cycles of nature this past week or so. The seasons keep turning even when we are in crisis. The flowers do grow not knowing what’s to come.