I'm celebrating National Poetry Month by sharing a poem each day. Today, I'll share two: Wordsworth's famous excerpt of "Lucy," and another poet's interpretation of the same work.
"Lucy" by William Wordsworth (1770–1850)
She dwelt among the untrodden ways
Beside the springs of Dove;
A maid whom there were none to praise,
And very few to love.
A violet by a mossy stone
Half-hidden from the eye!
—Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.
She lived unknown, and few could know
When Lucy ceased to be;
But she is in her grave, and, O!
The difference to me!
He dwelt among 'apartments let,'
About five stories high;
A man I thought that none would get,
And very few would try.
A boulder, by a larger stone
Half hidden in the mud,
Fair as a man when only one
Is in the neighborhood.
He lived unknown, and few could tell
When Jacob was not free;
But he has got a wife,-and O!
The difference to me!