My selection criteria for poems to post are simple: Either I know all or part of the poem by heart or it must be somehow related to bees. Or both.
This poem is one of the former, and one of my very favorites. I hope you enjoy it too.
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.
Related articles
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- The World Is Too Much With Us: Human Separation From Nature (hokku.wordpress.com)
- The Power of Nature Hidden Behind an Abbey (representativebritishwriters.wordpress.com)
I love bees! I am going to start beekeeping this year! And this Wordsworth poem is absolutely beautiful.
Lovel. Oh and I really like your criteria!
That poem, of course, is so perfect for the times we live in. I sent it to all my kids, though I’m sure they’ll think I’m harping! Thanks for sharing that one.
I think so too. I hope your children like it. 🙂
One never tires of this poem. How do you manage to memorize so many poems?
I just memorize parts of them. 🙂
I’m glad you liked it. It’s one of my very favorites.