What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

W.H.Davies’s poem “Leisure” is a very important poem that talks about the pertinent issue of lack of time the common man has in this fast-paced world. The world where anyone barely gets any time to sit back and cherish nature and the beauty the world has to offer. The poet asks what is this life where we don’t have any time to stand and observe. Observe anything the world has to offer to delight our visual senses.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

The poet says that we don’t have any time to stand beneath boughs and be lazy and just stare about blankly as sheep and cows do. This is to indicate that we don’t have any free time to about idly as cattle do.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

We don’t have any time to observe the woods that we pass. The woods where squirrels hide their nuts in the grass. The poet says that we fail to enjoy the little but important things in life. The things that nature has presented us to cherish and bask in.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

The poet says that we have no time to see in broad daylight the streams that are on offer that glisten and twinkle like stars at night. The poet points out the bountiful nature that we fail to cherish.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

We don’t have any time to turn and look at beautiful things in life and the gracefulness that they possess. This could range from flowers swaying to the breeze to beautiful maidens dancing to a song.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

Alas! The poet laments that we have no time to watch a beautiful smile. A pretty smile should be cherished but we fail to do so when we are running helter-skelter, hustling to stay in the race with the rest of the world.

A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

The poet says that it is indeed a poor life, full of care because we barely have any time to cherish the nature gifted to mankind. The poet hints to us that we should take time to cherish the small things in life that often go unnoticed and we miss out on the wondrous creation of God. Although hustling and our daily busy lives are important, we should take out some to cherish nature in its true magnificence. A pretty dance or a beautiful smile is fulfilling to our eyes and should be appreciated for its true worth instead of being ignored or missed. The poet admits the paucity of time Man has yet he tells us of the various wonderful things we would be missing out on.