Allspirit

Category: William Wordsworth

  • She Was A Phantom Of Delight

    By William Wordsworth

    SHE was a Phantom of delight
    When first she gleamed upon my sight;
    A lovely Apparition, sent
    To be a moment’s ornament;
    Her eyes as stars of Twilight fair;
    Like Twilight’s, too, her dusky hair;
    But all things else about her drawn
    From May-time and the cheerful Dawn;
    A dancing Shape, an Image gay,
    To haunt, to startle, and way-lay.  10

    I saw her upon nearer view,
    A Spirit, yet a Woman too!
    Her household motions light and free,
    And steps of virgin-liberty;
    A countenance in which did meet
    Sweet records, promises as sweet;
    A Creature not too bright or good
    For human nature’s daily food;
    For transient sorrows, simple wiles,
    Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles.  20

    And now I see with eye serene
    The very pulse of the machine;
    A Being breathing thoughtful breath,
    A Traveller between life and death;
    The reason firm, the temperate will,
    Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill;
    A perfect Woman, nobly planned,
    To warn, to comfort, and command;
    And yet a Spirit still, and bright
    With something of angelic light.  30
    1804.

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  • O Nightingale! Thou Surely Art

    By William Wordsworth

    O Nightingale! thou surely art
    A creature of a “fiery heart”:–
    These notes of thine–they pierce and pierce;
    Tumultuous harmony and fierce!
    Thou sing’st as if the God of wine
    Had helped thee to a Valentine;
    A song in mockery and despite
    Of shades, and dews, and silent night;
    And steady bliss, and all the loves
    Now sleeping in these peaceful groves.  10
    I heard a Stock-dove sing or say
    His homely tale, this very day;
    His voice was buried among trees,
    Yet to be come at by the breeze:
    He did not cease; but cooed–and cooed;
    And somewhat pensively he wooed:
    He sang of love, with quiet blending,
    Slow to begin, and never ending;
    Of serious faith, and inward glee;
    That was the song–the song for me!  20
    1807.

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  • My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold

    By William Wordsworth

    My heart leaps up when I behold
    A rainbow in the sky:
    So was it when my life began;
    So is it now I am a man;
    So be it when I shall grow old,
    Or let me die!
    The Child is father of the Man;
    I could wish my days to be
    Bound each to each by natural piety.
    1802.

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  • It Is A Beauteous Evening, Calm And Free

    By William Wordsworth

    IT is a beauteous evening, calm and free,
    The holy time is quiet as a Nun
    Breathless with adoration; the broad sun
    Is sinking down in its tranquillity;
    The gentleness of heaven broods o’er the Sea:
    Listen! the mighty Being is awake,
    And doth with his eternal motion make
    A sound like thunder–everlastingly.
    Dear Child! dear Girl! that walkest with me here,
    If thou appear untouched by solemn thought,
    Thy nature is not therefore less divine:
    Thou liest in Abraham’s bosom all the year;
    And worship’st at the Temple’s inner shrine,
    God being with thee when we know it not.

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  • 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.

    Continuous as the stars that shine
    And twinkle on the milky way,
    They stretched in never-ending line
    Along the margin of a bay:  10
    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,  20
    They flash upon that inward eye
    Which is the bliss of solitude;
    And then my heart with pleasure fills,
    And dances with the daffodils.
    1804.

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  • Farewell Lines

    By William Wordsworth

    “HIGH bliss is only for a higher state,”
    But, surely, if severe afflictions borne
    With patience merit the reward of peace,
    Peace ye deserve; and may the solid good,
    Sought by a wise though late exchange, and here
    With bounteous hand beneath a cottage-roof
    To you accorded, never be withdrawn,
    Nor for the world’s best promises renounced.
    Most soothing was it for a welcome Friend,
    Fresh from the crowded city, to behold 10
    That lonely union, privacy so deep,
    Such calm employments, such entire content.
    So when the rain is over, the storm laid,
    A pair of herons oft-times have I seen,
    Upon a rocky islet, side by side,
    Drying their feathers in the sun, at ease;
    And so, when night with grateful gloom had fallen,
    Two glow-worms in such nearness that they shared,
    As seemed, their soft self-satisfying light,
    Each with the other, on the dewy ground,  20
    Where He that made them blesses their repose.–
    When wandering among lakes and hills I note,
    Once more, those creatures thus by nature paired,
    And guarded in their tranquil state of life,
    Even, as your happy presence to my mind
    Their union brought, will they repay the debt,
    And send a thankful spirit back to you,
    With hope that we, dear Friends! shall meet again.
    1842.

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  • On The Banks Of A Rocky Stream

    By William Wordsworth

    BEHOLD an emblem of our human mind
    Crowded with thoughts that need a settled home,
    Yet, like to eddying balls of foam
    Within this whirlpool, they each other chase
    Round and round, and neither find
    An outlet nor a resting-place!
    Stranger, if such disquietude be thine,
    Fall on thy knees and sue for help divine.
    1846.

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