Coming up daffodils

Spring has sprung. When I was a kid, Spring always sprung on March 21, but for some reason it’s been backdated on calendars, which makes this blog post look one day tardy. Never mind. Spring itself has been tardy in getting to most of snowbound Canada. Here on Vancouver Island, though, everything is coming up daffodils. This gorgeous cluster is just a stone’s throw from my house.

Daffodils and Spring are synonomous for most of us—just as they were for the Romantic poets, back in their day. Remember William Wordsworth’s “host of golden daffodils”? Things were always coming up daffodils for the Romantic poets! Well me being me, I couldn’t resist spoofing “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.” Literary agent Chip MacGregor runs an annual “Bad Poetry” contest looking for hilariously over-the-top “purple verse.” I’m proud to say that my daffodil poem (“I Wandered Lonely”) was 2010 Runner-Up in Chip’s “best worst” poem contest!

Earning this dubious honour wasn’t even hard. I just asked myself: What if the poet had been “pissed off” as he wandered out there in nature, with everything around him coming up daffodils? Maybe he was ticked because his relationship had broken down? Or the clouds weren’t quite as cumulus as he’d hoped?

Can YOU relate to such misery? Maybe you’re ticked off that Spring hasn’t yet sprung where you are, so you can. If so, I hope you’ll get a chuckle out of my YouTube rendition (video below) of “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.” I’d love to hear if it gives you a giggle. And feel free to share!