One of the poems that I have studied during my good old school-days and which still remains afresh in my mind is ‘The Daffodils’ by William Wordsworth. The poem was such a lovely piece of art, that whenever I heard or read or recited it, the host of golden daffodils not only fluttered besides the lake and beneath the trees, but also within me, in the garden of my own mind. To anyone who believes in ‘emotions recollected in tranquility’, it is no surprise that Daffodils present what wealth a show, not only to be gazed and feel gay and glee, but also to be a flash upon the inward eye and a bliss of solitude. Of course, the poem ‘Daffodils’ is as sensuous as the daffodils stretched in never-ending line along the margin of a bay continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on the Milky Way.
Nonetheless, it is also true as steel that, daffodils can steal our lives. In the bulbs of daffodils are present, lycorine, a toxic crystalline alkaloid which is highly poisonous and can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and convulsions. Indeed, on May 1, 2009, it was reported that a number of school children had fallen ill in a school in England after adding a daffodil bulb to soup during a cookery class. The bulbs could often be confused with onions, thereby leading to incidents of accidental poisoning.
It is interesting to note that the botanical name of daffodils which enjoy being the national flower of Whales is Narcissus pseudonarcissus. The etymology of the term can be traced back to the Greek myth of Narcissus, who was an extremely good-looking Greek youth, born to the river god Cephissus and the nymph Leiriope. At his birth, Tiresias prophesied that Narcissus would enjoy a long life as long as he would never know himself. Many women and men fell in love with him. He rejected all of them including nymph Echo, who at the rejection faded away, until only her voice remained. Ameinias, another admirer, was so devastated by Narcissus's indifference towards him that he killed himself. Before doing so, however, Ameinias called on the gods to punish Narcissus and he was punished. One day while Narcissus was gazing into a pond, he saw his own reflection and he fell in love with his own image, and trying to touch it, fell into the pond and got drowned. There where he died, a plant sprang and that is believed to be the Narcissus plant, commonly known as daffodil.
In fact, it is based on this myth that the word Narcissism has originated. Narcissism, which defines a tendency to love oneself excessively without any regard for others, leads one to hate others, ultimately leading us to Darwinism, with the motto, ‘kill or be killed’. Daffodils, therefore, should be seen not only as an object of romantic beauty to be admired and glorified, but also as a symbol of narcissism or selfishness, which is as poisonous as the flower narcissus.
It is our call as Christians, followers of Christ, to counter Narcissism and foster agapaic love, to love as our Saviour did. Let us stand as a corrective to narcissism, not only in becomingpreachers of love, but also in continuing to be part of Christ, voicing against anything that defies true love. Let daffodils never bloom in our garden of mind. Let narcissism never conquer our spirit of unity and fellowship. Let not the poison of selfishness and hatred be felt in the blood, and felt along the heart and passing even into our purer mind. Let for oft, when on our couch we lie, in vacant or in pensive mood, what that flash upon our inward eye, as a bliss of solitude, not be daffodils but THE CROSS, the symbol of true and selfless love, and then let our hearts be filled with pleasure and dance in harmony and tranquility.
