Living
Leisure
From Songs of Joy (1911)
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.
Codex Note
'What is this life if, full of care, / We have no time to stand and stare.' Davies's best-known poem is a series of couplets listing the things we have no time to see.
Cite this poem
MLA
Davies, W. H. “Leisure.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/davies_wh/29/.
Chicago
Davies, W. H. “Leisure.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/davies_wh/29/.
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