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:
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.
ON FRIENDSHIP
Kahlil Gibran
And a youth said, "Speak to us of Friendship."
Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you
sow with love
and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with
your hunger,
and you seek him for peace.
When your friend speaks
his mind
you fear not the "nay" in your own
mind,
nor do you withhold the "ay."
And when he is silent
your heart ceases not to listen to his
heart;
For without words, in
friendship
all thoughts, all desires,
all expectations are born and shared,
with joy that is unacclaimed.
When you part from your
friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most
in him may be clearer in his absence,
as the mountain to the climber is
clearer from the plain.
And let there be no
purpose in friendship
save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught
but the disclosure of its own mystery
is not love, but a net cast forth: and
only the unprofitable is caught.
And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of
your tide,
let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend
that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your
need,
but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of
friendship
let there be laughter,
and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little
things
the heart finds its morning
and is refreshed.
"A good friend
overlooks your broken-down gate
and admires the flowers in your window"
--Anonymous--
Go to WestWynd's Home to visit more
pages created by WestWynd!
or this next page:
Thanks to M.Goldin for
telling me about
this poem by Wordsworth and the
wonderful thoughts by Gibran.
My friends always inspire me
and for that, I am grateful.
Created by WestWynd
October 31, 1999