Tag Archives: leisure poem by william henry davies

The Leisure poem was written by a welsh poet W. H. Davies. It appeared for the first time in his book Songs of Joy and Others, published in the year 1911. It is said that this poem was inspired by the sonnet "The World is Too Much with Us" by William Wordsworth. This poem focuses on the hectic life of a modern man. It tells us about the things that we miss, and the things that are just passing us by. One of the best-known poems by W. H. Davies, telling us to enjoy life and nature once in a while to have a fulfilling life. Leisure Poem` leisure poem Image Source @ pinterest.com 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 or 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. Summary Of Leisure Poem: In the first four lines, the poet writes in a disappointing tone, that what is life if we have no time to stand and stare at the beautiful world. He is sad that we have no time to stand underneath the branches of the trees. Or look at the world as long as cows or crows. Also, read The Brave Little Kite. In the next four lines, the poet still keeps his disappointed tone. And talks about how we pass the woods and never really look at them. We don't notice the squirrels running around and hiding the nuts in the ground. We forget to see the gleaming water of the streams, which looks exactly like a sky full of stars. The poet seems to get sadder in the next four lines. He writes how sad it is that we forget to see the dance of nature's beauty. And how sad it is that we have forgotten to smile because of nature's beauty. The poet ends the poem by telling us that if all we do is care and hectically work throughout our lives; there's no point in living like that. If we have no time to stand and stare at nature's beauty, then are we really living? This poem is asking us to break from the hectic lives and enjoy nature once in a while. You may also like to read, If Poem.