Sunday, March 20, 2011

First Day Musings -- Could It Be??

Planted in puddles throughout my yard so that I might see them from where ever I am in the house, are daffodils. I had a deal with my parents when I was a child: I could go barefoot as soon as the first flower appeared. For this reason alone, daffodils could be my favorite flower. But, I love them, as well, for the reasons poets best can tell...

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
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but 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.

Song of Solomon 2:11–12

... for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.


Edna St. Vincent Millay, "Afternoon on a Hill"
will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.

Walt Whitman
A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.


William Allingham

Pluck not the wayside flower;

It is the traveler's dower.

Matthew 6:29
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.


Shall we meet in the yard, have a cuppa, and watch the flowers grow? Have a glorious First Day, won't you?

7 comments:

  1. Oh how beautiful. Love all the quotes and verses. The daffodils are beautiful. It’s finally here :)

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  2. I have a garden plaque with the Edna St. Vincent Millay quote. For the last couple of years, I've been planting a bushel basket of daffodil bulbs in the fall, hoping that one day, The will naturalize and cover the entire back forty. Remember that scene in Dr. Zhivago where Yuri is standing in the middle of a field of daffodils? That's what I want it to look like. The joy they give!

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  3. We have such puddles and SOOOO Happy they are here!

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  4. Words and pictures filled with the beauty of nature!...:)JP

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  5. Your daffodils are just beautiful. When I was growing up my family called them "daffy-down-dillies". I still let that slip once in awhile and people give me a strange look! :) It would be wonderful to have a whole field of them. How nice a cup of tea in the garden, sounds right about now...Delisa :)

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  6. I LOVE this post! It truly made my heart sing! Thanks so much and many blessings for a beautiful evening~~Shine~~

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  7. Thanks for the springy, uplifting post, Matty. We planted lots of daffodils last fall down by our pond. But no sign of them, yet. Just in the stores where it is almost as fun!

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Thanks for dropping in on the farm today! I enjoy your comments!

Warmly,

Matty