"Leisure"
by William Davies
W. H. Davies
About the Poet
William Henry Davies (1871-1940) was a Welsh poet and writer. A rather rebellious young man, he left Wales for America and lived life as a tramp, taking on odd jobs, begging, and travelling from one place to another. He lost a leg in a train accident and returned to England soon after. He lived in various homeless shelters while self-publishing his first book, The Soul's Destroyer. He eventually gained fame and respect around 1908, when his book The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp caught the attention of George Bernard Shaw. His style is characterised by a love of nature, lyrical simplicity, subtle use of language, and a deep sympathy for human suffering. Some of his best known poems are "Leisure. "The Kingfisher, and "Rich or Poor
About the Poem
The poem 'Leisure' explores in simple language the poet's idea of what a life well lived should be like. It seems to be an indirect commentary on how caught up we are in our everyday hustle and bustle that we miss out on the simple joys and beauty that we can find all around us, if only we stop once in a while and simply look.
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.
Explanation -The poet criticizes modern life. Our modern life is full of cares and worries. We have no time to stand in one place and stare with patience at the beauty of nature. The man is so busy in worldly affairs. We are always in a hurry. We have no leisure time to look at the beauty. We cannot spend a few moments standing under the branches of green trees .We cannot see and enjoy the beautiful shades of the trees. The common animals like sheep and cows are better than us. Even they enjoy the beauty of Nature.
However, man is so busy. We cannot look at the common animals like sheep and cows grazing in the pastures. We are so busy ourselves with worldly affairs. We cannot enjoy nature.We cannot love the natural beauty spread all around us. Man‟s sad life brings him nothing but unhappiness and worries.
We go through some forest, we do not have time. We do not have time to stop for some moments and to look at the tall or short trees. We cannot enjoy their natural beauty. The dark green trees give a calming effect. But we are always sick-hurried. We cannot enjoy the simple beauty. Also we cannot look at the small animals like squirrels hiding their food-grain in the grass for the winter.This simple scene can also give us relief.
The poet says that man cannot see the beauty hidden in the streams. During day time, the clear water of the streams reflects and shines. It looks to us as if there were many stars in the streams. They look like stars in the sky during the night. Sometimes the water of streams is so clear that we can even see stones beneath the water. They look like stars in the clear bluewater. This scene is also like the stars shining in the sky at night.
