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 if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.

(1911) W.H. Davies