Leisure

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.

- William Henry Davies

So true is it not? The last time I stopped to look at a tree or a squirrel was when I was in the eleventh grade, the day I read this poem in my English book. I remember thinking how true this poem was, even as I decided I would allocate some time to nature walks and bird watching every week. And I remember sticking to that decision for exactly a week. Life caught up with me, as they say! Here I am today, again thinking of how I have stopped paying attention to nature around me. I see trees when I travel to the office, get a view of the river from some parts of the office, hear birds chirping while I am waiting for S to pick me up in the evening and see squirrels crossing the road all the time. But I never pay attention. All these scenes just flash through, with me zooming past them.
So here I go: I shall stop to admire nature every once in a while. And I shall stick to this decision this time.