William Henry Davies (3 July 1871 – 26 September 1940 / Monmouthshire / Wales)

My Granpa used to quote this to me. He'd be in the garden in South Wales doing the vegetables and I'd be rushing about.

• ‘Leisure’ is a simple yet beautiful and thought provoking poem written by William Henry Davies (W. H. Davies) . In this poem, the poet wonders whether it is worth leading a life which provides one with no time for leisure.
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• The poem ‘Leisure’ is divided into seven rhyming couplets.
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• Couplet 1:
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• The poet, W. H. Davies, begins by questioning the purpose of a life which is so full of worry that it does not allow us any time to simply stand still and watch the world go by.
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• In the next few couplets, he describes the various things that people are not able to do due to lack of leisure.
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• Couplet 2:
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• Sheep and cows can often be seen standing still in vast open fields and
staring into a distance. People living a busy life would not posses the leisure to stand under the branches of trees and keep gazing on and on like such ruminants.
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• Couplet 3:
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• W. H. Davies further adds that when such people pass a forest or a woodland, they would be in too much of a hurry to notice the nooks and crannies in the grass where squirrels conceal their nuts. They would not posses the leisure to notice the various aspects of the natural world around them.
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• Couplet 4:
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• In daylight, streams appear to be sparkling under the effect of sunshine making it seem as if the streams are full of stars like the night sky. However, such beauties of nature are likely to be missed by people overburdened by anxiety and living a life of haste without any leisure, remarks W.H. Davies.
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• Couplets 5 and 6:
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• There are two ways of looking at the fifth and sixth couplets of the poem: literally and metaphorically.
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• Looking at it literally- The poet states that the rush of life provides people with no leisure to turn at the glance of a beautiful maiden and marvel at her dancing feet.
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• They are unable to leisurely observe her as her mouth shapes out a smile that started from her eyes.
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• Looking at it metaphorically- W.H. Davies has personified the beauty of the world around us which many often fail to observe due to a lack of leisure. The dancing feet and enchanting smile refers to various aspects of the beauty around us.
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• Couplet 7:
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• In the final couplet of the poem, Davies states that a life which is so bogged down by worry that it allows one no time for leisure is indeed a miserable life. If you read the first couplet of ‘Leisure’ carefully, you will notice that although it ends with a full stop, (and is hence in the form of a statement) it can also be interpreted as a question asked by the poet. In that case, the final couplet can be seen as W. H. Davies’ answer to his own question.

this is a really good poem

I read the poem 'Leisure' by William Henry Davies many years ago at school. Only now with the internet it is possible to find out extra facts about the writer. WHD had a hard time as a poet but many in the Theatre supported him. He self published a book of poems and earned some money from the sales. He covered the many miles of road making observations and writing his poetry. An amazing person. Loved his poem 'Leisure' by the way.

A severe warning against planned preoccupation. Do not shut the doors of your mind.

A stark reality of life, chasing the shadows of that dream/s called life. By wink of an eye we miss seeing the world.How true, we have no time to stand and stare, appreciate the god's creation; peoples love; fragmenting with our own divided walls, by island of ourselves.narrow parochial outlook; oh my, give eyes to wonder, lack words to praise. beauty, beauty from every creations.

SIMPLY MY FAVORITE POEM ENHANCES MY BRAIN.

As a scientist I often have to pause to consider a new idea or concept. It is just so important to free one's mind from the day-to-day clutter that one finds so prevalent in this modern World. So by pausing in life I find one can become much more observant and perceptive and for myself I find that new ideas that oftentimes are very significant come to me much more readily. William Davies has spoken clearly to me over time and distance.
John Loudon
Sydney, Australia

Thanks to Luis Gumucio of Santiago, Chile, I have 're' discovered this poem that I learnt in Grammar School in England in the mid-sixties.
Being an eternal romantic the verse that had stuck in my mind for forty years is... ' No time to wait till her mouth can, enrich that smile her eyes began', but indeed, the words should help us reflect on what we are doing with our lives and others lives.

This is a poem that many people know, but don, t know the author. It is often quoted because it gives us chance to think what are we doing with our lives?
How to make time to be quiet, rest and contemplate how we are doign, our goals. Our Treatment of others etc. So read and enjoy it and remember the name of the author, then if any one askes Yes, you can I know William Henry Davies and say it proudly.
Thanks for listening.