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Poetry Sunday: Lines Written in Early Spring

Spring may be the season which most appeals to poets. They've certainly had a lot to say about it in many different ways.

Surely one of the poets most associated with poems about spring is William Wordsworth and one of his most famous poems on the subject is this one. It finds the poet in a pleasant woodland grove, enjoying the birds' songs and the spring flowers, but all this beauty prompts somber thoughts of what a mess humans have made of things. It was written in April 1798, but it might have been written today.
Lines Written in Early Spring
by William Wordsworth
I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sate reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.
To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.
Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.
The birds around me hopped and played,
Their thoughts I cannot measure:—
But the least motion which they made
It seemed a thrill of pleasure.
The budding twigs spread out their fan,
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.
If this belief from heaven be sent,
If such be Nature’s holy plan,
Have I not reason to lament
What man has made of man?
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Comments

  1. Judy KruegerMarch 26, 2017 at 12:32 PM

    Since all of mankind seems to love spring, I keep the hope that spring will continue to spring eternal and give us pause from time to time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersMarch 26, 2017 at 1:41 PM

      It certainly gave Wordsworth pause and it should cause us all to think about the condition of the world and how we have affected it.

      Delete
  2. Dorothy BordersMarch 26, 2017 at 1:42 PM

    I'm so glad!

    ReplyDelete
  3. RoseMarch 27, 2017 at 7:54 AM

    Wordsworth is one of my favorites! I always think of the line "a host of daffodils dancing in the breeze" every spring when the daffodils all bloom.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersMarch 27, 2017 at 9:56 AM

      That phrase really describes the essence of spring, doesn't it?

      Delete

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