Dancing Hearts

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

This is one of my favorite poems. I love the idea of gazing at the beauty before us, and then calling it up in our mind's eye to appreciate it again later. That's something good writers do well. We observe the world around us with sharper vision, always looking for the details, storing them for future use.

This poem is one of my "happy thoughts". I think of it when I'm feeling stressed or blue and then, like Wordsworth, "...my heart with pleasure fills, / And dances with the daffodils." Today, I hope we all have dancing hearts.

What makes your heart dance?

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I also need to thank a couple of people for awards today. Candice at Suffering from Writers blog recently honored me with the "From Me to You" flower bouquet award, which must be passed on to seven of my new favorite blog reads. It also requires me to share seven more things about myself, which I will do tomorrow. Today, though, I pass the love to:



Laurel @ Laurel's Leaves
Catherine @ Winged Writer
Diana @ Writing Roller Coasters
Marybeth @ Desperately Searching for My Inner Mary Poppins
Juju @ Tales of Whimsy
Bane @ Bane's Blogging Blues
L.T. Host @ Quest: Published




Those are some of my most recent favorite stalking spots. Each site has something unique and special to offer (check out L.T.'s mad libs). I hope you'll pay them each a visit!

I also received the Honest Scrap award from Laurel. Thanks, Laurel! I'll pass the love along on that one tomorrow, along with a couple of others I've neglected this week.

After this monster-long post, don't forget today's question:

What makes your heart dance?