Friday, April 21, 2017

Poetry Friday: Wordsworth


Wordsworth always speaks for himself, but I will add that I adore the line, "The Child is the father of the man;" ... happy sighs on this spring day.

Tabatha has the round up at The Opposite of Indifference.

My Heart Leaps Up
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;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.

(In the public domain.) 

Don't forget to check out all the National Poetry Month happenings:

7 comments:

jama said...

Sigh, this reminds me of my college class on the Romance poets. Loved that class. "The child is the father of the man" made a big impression on me too. Ah, those sweet intimations of immortality. . .

Ruth said...

MY heart leaps up when I behold bougainvillea. :-)

Tabatha said...

"My Heart Leaps Up" is a wonderful title, isn't it?
People using poems as mentor texts has got me thinking along those lines, and I am wondering about using "So was it -- so it is-- so be it --"

Jane @ Raincity Librarian said...

How I love this poem - it reminds me of that quote from Shaw, that we grow old because we stop playing. Long may we keep that inner child in our heart who stops to admire the beauty and wonder of a rainbow!

Kay said...

This poem takes me back to my college class on Romantic poetry. I hope to finally fulfill one last assignment from the class next year--to hike the Lake District with a copy of Wordsworth in one hand.

Brenda at FriendlyFairyTales said...

A great title. My Heart Doesn't Leap Up: When I get a text, a telemarker phones or I see we are out of milk. :-) We need nature to get us past the details and out into the big picture.

Mary Lee said...

I'm not as eloquent, but I am constantly reminding my fifth graders that they are creating the person they will be for the rest of their lives. The habits they cultivate, their ways of looking at the world, the things they value most...it all matters. I think parents totally understand (if they don't always remember) that they get ONE chance to raise their kids right, but who is reminding the kids that they get ONE chance to build the best life they can?