Written by William Henry Davies, 'Leisure' is a poem focusing on how human is no longer capable of enjoying their environment.
The Poem
LEISURE
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 is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
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 is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
(source, POEM HUNTER)
PARAPHRASED!
STANZA 1
The poet ask of life and whether it is meaningful, followed by the second line stating that we (human) are no longer able to spent time looking aimlessly on our surroundings
STANZA 2
In the second stanza, the poet mention that simple task like standing beneath trees and looking at farm animals is no longer doable. Perhaps the author is thinking of how as a child we would spent time doing this but no longer able to do so today.
STANZA 3
In this stanza, the poet focus on mother nature and it's beauty with the mentioning of woods (forest) and its inhabitants (the squirell)
STANZA 4
Here, the poet seems sad that we no longer have time to contemplate our surrounding in daytime and watch the beauty of stars at night
STANZA 5
Then, the poet talks on Beauty (could be reffering to the one we love) and that we are so strained so much on time that we could not even take a quick glance at her, let alone watced her dance
STANZA 6
In the sixth stanza the poet still focus on Beauty and added thay we are so busy that we can't even see her beautiful smile
STANZA 7
In the final stanza the poet answers his first question on the first stanza stating that this life is sad even if we never waste any time on our work. Because it is important for us to enjoy our surroundings if we still can
FINAL SAY
I'm actually astounded by this poem and how it focus on the busyness of human lives (working) today that we are no longer enjoying it. The use of question and statement 'full of care' followed by stanzas mentioning our bad time management shows how we only 'care' on our occupation rather than caring on what is more important.
If youre not satisfied by my paraphrasing of this poem, please leave a comment and say how you think it should be done.
THANK YOU
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