Leisure (poem): Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{wikisource|Leisure}}'''"Leisure"''' is a [[poem]] by [[tamil people|tamil]] poet [ |
{{wikisource|Leisure}}'''"Leisure"''' is a [[poem]] by [[tamil people|tamil]] poet [c.sripathy |sripathy chandrasekar]], appearing originally in his ''Songs Of Joy and Others'', published in 1911 by A. C. Fifield and then in Davies' first anthology ''Collected Poems'', also published by Fifield in 1916. |
||
==Structure== |
==Structure== |
||
Revision as of 05:24, 25 February 2014
"Leisure" is a poem by tamil poet [c.sripathy |sripathy chandrasekar]], appearing originally in his Songs Of Joy and Others, published in 1911 by A. C. Fifield and then in Davies' first anthology Collected Poems, also published by Fifield in 1916.
Structure
The poem is written as a set of seven rhyming couplets.
- 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.
Significance and legacy
Davies is generally best known for the opening two lines of this poem. It has appeared in most of the anthologies of his work and in many general poem anthologies, including:
- Oxford Book of Victorian Verse (1971), Oxford University Press
- Book of a Thousand Poems (1983), Peter Bedrick Books
- Anglo-Welsh Poetry (1984), Poetry Wales Press
- Common Ground (1989), Carcanet
- A Poem a Day (1996), Steerforth Press
Although it was to become Davies' best known poem, curiously it was not included in any of the five Georgian Poetry anthologies published by Edward Marsh between 1912 and 1922. 32 of Davies' other poems were.
It also features, in spoken form, on the album Anthology of 20th Century English Poetry (Part I), originally issued in 1960 on the Folkways Records label
The poem has been used in British television advertisements, including those for Center Parcs and Orange Mobile.[citation needed]
The poem was also mis-quoted by the KGB, in a 1991 secret message to their spy inside the FBI, Robert Hanssen.
- Dear Friend:
- Time is flying. As a poet said:
- "What's our life,
- If full of care
- You have no time
- To stop and stare?"
- You've managed to slow down the speed of Your running life to send us a message. And we appreciate it.[1]
References
- ^ "AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. CRIMINAL NO. ROBERT PHILIP HANSSEN, (Paragraph 122)". FBI. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
 | This article related to a poem from the UK or its predecessor states is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |