[Written at Town-end, Grasmere.—I. F.]
One of the "Poems referring to the Period of Childhood." In 1807 it was No. 4 of the series called "Moods of my own Mind."—Ed.
The Poem
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| 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. [Note] [Contents 1802] [Main Contents] | [A] | 5 |
Compare Milton's phrase in Paradise Regained (book iv. l. 220):
'The childhood shews the man,
As morning shews the day.'