LEISURE

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. The poet asks of how this life would mean if we have the time to take a rest and feel the beauty of life. No time to stand beneath the bough And stare as long as sheep or cows. Working people nowadays have no time to rest and have some leisure time as they are too busy earning money for living. No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass. We have no time to experience the fresh air and the excitement of spending time in the jungle watching how the nature of the Earth works as we are too busy working in the town. No time to see, in broad daylight. Streams full of stars, like stars at night. Since nowadays people work very hard in the daylight, they turn to be tired at night. As a result, they have no time to enjoy the beauty of the night seeing that they need to sleep for their body need to rest to start working early in the morning the next day. No time to turn at Beauty’s glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance. We have no time to care about our mothers; how they take care of us and doing the house chores in order to raise us and to make us live in a happy and comfortable environment. No time to wait till her mouth can Enrich that smile her eyes began. We have no time to even take a look at our mothers to curve a smile again and the eyes that hide all the pain and suffer in raising us. A poor life this is, if full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. The poet feels that a life without appreciating the nature is seen as a lifeless life because we don’t have the time for our self to care of the beauty of nature.

Practice 4

1. Identify a line that demonstrates interactions with nature.

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1. (a) Which phrase is repeated all over the poem?

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(b) Explain what is indicated by this repetition.

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Practice 2

1. What or who is the poet referring to when he used the word “Beauty”?

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1. Explain in your own words what is meant in the first two lines of the poem.

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Practice 6

1. What is implied by the word “Leisure” as used in the poem?

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1. Explain what the poet meant by the last two lines.

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PRACTICE 2

1. Nature

1. The poet questions 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. We should take the time to recognize the world around

us and see what’s going on. One day we might have something or someone, and the next their gone.

PRACTICE 4

1. Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

1. (a) No time

(b) The repetition is an indication of mankind’s dilemma. We merely go on with our fast paced lives as

though nature is nothing special, when in reality it is a magnificent creation like a work of art hanging in a

museum.

PRACTICE 6

1. Time spent enjoying simple beauties cherished and regarded as a forgotten pastime.

1. The fever and fret of worldly responsibilities deprives man of sweet moments of leisure and rest. If

human life is nothing but painful cares and worries, then it is really poor and miserable. Man

should give as much importance to pleasure and peace of mind as to the earning of money to raise

his status.