Looking Inward with Lily

It is officially Spring! After what seemed like a never ending winter, I came home today to see the buds on the garden daffodils are starting to bloom. I am hoping this is a sign that Spring like temperatures are not too far off on the horizon. This yellow flower brought sunshine to a dreary patch in my garden. Today, I share a picture of one of my garden daffodils to brighten up your day, a few fun facts about the Daffodil, and a poem by William Wordsworth that is commonly known as “The Daffodils”.

Seven fun facts about Daffodils:
1. The Daffodil symbolizes rebirth and new beginnings.
2. The Daffodil is the March birth flower from the Latin name Narcissus.
3. Greek legend tells the story of a man named Narcissus who was so obsessed with his own reflection that as he knelt by water to gaze at himself he fell in and drowned. The daffodil flower supposedly grew in the spot where he died.
4. Daffodils are the national flower of Wales.
5. In Chinese culture the daffodil is a symbol of prosperity. It is said that if the daffodil blooms early in the year it will bring you wealth and good fortune.
6. The scent of the Daffodil is very sweet and some say it can reduce tension and stress. Although, don’t get too close as you can get daffodil itch from handling the stems.
7. William Wordsworth wrote a poem called “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” which became commonly known as “The Daffodils’. I remember learning this poem in school.

“I wandered lonely as a cloud”

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 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.

William Wordsworth