Impressions of Desideria

DESIDERIA


by: William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

SURPRISED by joy -- impatient as the Wind
I turned to share the transport -- O! with whom
But Thee, deep buried in the silent tomb,
That spot which no vicissitude can find?
Love, faithful love, recall'd thee to my mind--
But how could I forget thee? Through what power,
Even for the least division of an hour,
Have I been so beguiled as to be blind
To my most grievous loss? -- That thought's return
Was the worst pang that sorrow ever bore,
Save one, one only, when I stood forlorn,
Knowing my heart's best treasure was no more;
That neither present time, nor years unborn
Could to my sight that heavenly face restore.

A short but simple poem. Like all poetry you must read it multiple times to find some meaning to it. That being said, again like all poetry, there is more than one possible meaning. To find the meaning, I had to break it down. So lets break it down and find said meaning.

SURPRISED by joy -- impatient as the Wind
I turned to share the transport -- O! with whom
I think of this as though he has gotten news that he wishes to share with someone close to him. You can tell the person is close by the way he says "I turned to share". If you turn, as in to someone next to you, they are close.
But Thee, deep buried in the silent tomb,
That spot which no vicissitude can find?
I believe this to mean the person is dead. "But Thee (the person I wish to share this with), deep buried in the silent tomb (is actually dead), That spot with no vicissitude (change) can find? (as in the grave does not change. There is no activity because the person is dead)"
Love, faithful love, recall'd thee to my mind--
But how could I forget thee? Through what power,
He loved this person. So much that he could not forget about this person, even after they have passed on.
Even for the least division of an hour,
Even for the smallest time,
Have I been so beguiled as to be blind
He asks "Was I tricked and thus blind...
To my most grievous loss? -- That thought's return
...so I thought that person still lived?" He wants to share the good news with this close friend, but then he remembered they were dead.
Was the worst pang that sorrow ever bore,
The pain comes back of remembering that person was dead.
Save one, one only, when I stood forlorn,
Except for one person when I was sad,
Knowing my heart's best treasure was no more;
He knows that that person that he cared so much about, was gone.
That neither present time, nor years unborn
Could to my sight that heavenly face restore.
And no matter how long he will be alive or dead, he can't see that person alive again.

This is a story of loss. A story that speaks to me. I lost someone very close to me a couple years back and just as this poem describes, there would be times when I would see something, or hear a story, or think of something I wanted to share with that person. Then I would remember that they are no longer here, and there was great pain. I believe I have found the meaning in this poem, and it truly affects me.
Thank you.