Question

‘What is this life full of care, there is no time to stand and stare’.

Answer 1

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 and cows: No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hidetheir nuts in grass: No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like skies at night: No time to turn ... ((This is one of my favourite lines, takes me straight back to class 6th, English literature - “Leisure”, W.H.Davies. I have no reminder of the poem, however I’ve held this line close to my heart.

Frankly, looking at this question is where I referred Wiki and realised that this poem has been written a century back! How can it be so relevant with changing times?

The younger me when I first read this, had a very different perception. To me - “No time to stand and stare” simply meant that I am obsessed with my priorities and missing on admiring the beautiful nature around me.

As I re -read these lines now, I strangely feel empty. There’s no nature left behind to seek serenity. However I can rightly broaden the scope of my imagination and point as to how we have neglected everything around us. From dawn till dusk, have we ever slowed our pace to even spare a minute and look around? Aren’t we puppets in this mechanical world where we don’t even know who’s strings are we playing to?! Isn’t “No time”, for anything - the most convenient excuse to state.

Our life doesn’t really slow down, it’s upto us to tend to our daily routine but do maketh sometime for sitting back and enjoy the little things around us.

Answer 2

Answer:

why does the poet call the ordinary life poor