And yet a spirit, still, and bright, with something of angelic light…

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Perfect Woman

by William Wordsworth
She was a phantom of delight

When first she gleam’d upon my sight;

A lovely apparition, sent

To be a moment’s ornament;

Her eyes as star of twilight fair;

Like twilight’s, too, her dusky hair;

But all things else about her drawn

From May-time and the cheerful dawn;

A dancing shape, an image gay,

To haunt, to startle, and waylay.

I saw her upon nearer view,

A Spirit, yet a Woman too!

Her household motions light and free,

And steps of virgin liberty;

A countenance in which did meet

Sweet records, promises as sweet;

A creature not too bright or good

For human nature’s daily food;

For transient sorrows, simple wiles,

Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles.

And now I see with eye serene

The very pulse of the machine;

A being breathing thoughtful breath

,
A traveller between life and death;

The reason firm, the temperate will,

Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill;

A perfect Woman, nobly plann’d

To warm, to comfort, and command;

And yet a Spirit still, and bright

With something of angelic light.

“Perfect Woman” by William Wordsworth. Public domain.

Archangel Haniel’s message for you:

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.
“My Heart Leaps Up” by William Wordsworth.

Public domain. 

Hi Jeanne,

Archangel Haniel’s Message For You Today:

“I ask you to notice the natural world coming alive. As you connect with the environment surrounding you, you too burst forth with a renewed vitality. The plants offer their support and guidance to you. Just as I am always with you, the essence of the land also consistently works to support you. Give thanks to the land that offers you food, grounding, and shelter.”

Your Angel Number For Today:

8 – The 8 vibration fosters abundance as you begin to grow personally and spiritually. You are becoming aware of the divinity in things beyond yourself. You notice God in the people you meet, the animals you see, the trees surrounding your home. It was all created to nurture your soul. There is oneness in all of life.

Action Steps:
Bring signs of life into your home like flowers, greenery, or a wreath. Cook with herbs. Let these be reminders of the beauty of plant life.

Affirmation Of The Day:

“As I am a part of nature I embrace my season of growing, I am planting seeds that will one day need sowing.”

Love & Blessings,

daffodils

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.
 
“I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud” by William Wordsworth. Public domain.

 

It was on this day in 1802 that William Wordsworth (books by this author) was walking home with his sister, Dorothy, and saw a patch of daffodils that became the inspiration for one of his most famous poems.
They were returning from a visit to their friends Thomas and Catherine Clarkson, who lived on the shore of Ullswater, the second largest lake in England’s lake district, a beautiful deep lake, nine miles long, surrounded by mountains.
Dorothy wrote in her journal: “When we were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow park we saw a few daffodils close to the water side. We fancied that the lake had floated the seeds ashore and that the little colony had so sprung up. But as we went along there were more and yet more and at last under the boughs of the trees, we saw that there was a long belt of them along the shore, about the breadth of a country turnpike road. I never saw daffodils so beautiful they grew among the mossy stones about and about them, some rested their heads upon these stones as on a pillow for weariness and the rest tossed and reeled and danced and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind that blew upon them over the lake, they looked so gay ever glancing ever changing.”
William was impressed by the daffodils too, but William didn’t write anything about them for at least two years, maybe more. No one is sure when he wrote the poem “I wander’d lonely as a cloud,” but it was published in 1807. Not only did Wordsworth probably reference Dorothy’s journal for inspiration, but his wife Mary came up with two lines: “They flash upon that inward eye / Which is the bliss of solitude.” William said they were the best lines in the poem.