While discussing poetry with Aasim today, I recalled and told him my all time favourite, Leisure, by W H Davies.
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
Lovely! I have been following your journal and have friended you!
Loved this post…! How true –
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
Thank you 🙂
Very true. Guess it will take him a couple of years to really appreciate those lines 🙂
He already understands atleast a little of it – its not funny how a nine year old’s life can get busy -school, studies, hobbies, play, tv, a little reading and writing for pleasure. He barely manages to pack all this in his day. On the flip side, during vacations, he gets thoroughly bored.
How lovely that you are discussing poetry with Aasim!
And…this has been the philosophy of my life…and I have been very lucky, too I think, in not having to earn my living. But I have consciously taken on, all my life, less than a full plate, giving me enough time to stand and stare: just browse around the market or an art exhibition; spend time with a suddenly-dropping in relative or friend; having the time to volunteer, either for some “social” work (I hate that term) or just spending time in the hospital when someone falls sick and another person has to run between home and hospital, or things of that sort…I do like to have time on my hands, and in fact, now I get hassled if I have too much to do at once, which sometimes happens. I hate having to tell anyone, “I am too busy right now”…I don’t want to be busy!
This poem particularly applies to today’s children, who are SO moulded by the ambitious parents that they really have NO time at all….what a tragedy this is.
We recite to each other a lot – and Aasim has been listining to us -its only now that he has shown interest and is participating in our poerty discussions.
My plate has always been full, at times overflowing and i love it that way, however, the dreamer I am, I still manage the time to stand and stare -and if not stand and stare, atleast, imagine that 🙂
I have always loved this one:)Thanks for posting it.