Lyric Poem · Life

Leisure

by W. H. Davies · 1911

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.

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“Leisure” by W. H. Davies — quilloak.com/poems/leisure

Quick facts

Poem: Leisure
Poet: W. H. Davies
Published: 1911
Length: 14 lines
Form: Lyric Poem, Couplet
Themes: Life, Peace

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 14 lines · 7 couplets
End rhyme: AA in 71% of the stanzas — a rhyming couplet. The remaining stanzas vary, often through slant rhyme.
Line length: Mostly 8-syllable lines (tetrameter length).
Refrain: “We have no time to stand and stare.”Repeated lines act as the poem's hinge or drumbeat.

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Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the cited edition and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record: W. H. Davies1871–1940
Source record: WikisourceLeisure by w-h-davies, Wikisource transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: 1911
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 5c5b0bc5b67e68e5…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.