Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in the 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 them my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
W. WORDSWORTH (1770 - 1850)