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I Wandered Lonely as a Tern

Maggie Watson

I wandered lonely as a tern
That floats on high and sails on ocean breeze,
When all at once I saw a flock
A mass, of dancing fish;
Beneath the sea, amongst the surge,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Unbroken as the wind that precedes
And sparkle of twisted scale,
They stretched along the waves
Along the edges of my sight:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Flicking their tails in unison.
The terns above them dove; but they
Fled the quick, sharp spear:
I could not but be awed,
In such an elegant company:
I watched—and watched—but little thought
What beauty the sea to me had brought:
For oft, when at my words I gaze
In stressed or in blackened mood,
Their image rises to my eye
Which is my solace in solitude;
And then my heart is lifted high,
And dances with the terns once more.

[For Ian and Shirley Nisbet in the style of William Wordsworth’s ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’]