| Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. 1922. | | | | Leisure | | By William H. Davies (1871–1940) |
| | | WHAT is this life if, full of care, | |
| We have no time to stand and stare?— | |
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| No time to stand beneath the boughs | |
| And stare as long as sheep or cows: | |
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| No time to see, when woods we pass, | 5 |
| Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass: | |
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| No time to see, in broad daylight, | |
| Streams full of stars, like skies at night: | |
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| No time to turn at Beauty’s glance, | |
| And watch her feet, how they can dance: | 10 |
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| No time to wait till her mouth can | |
| Enrich that smile her eyes began? | |
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| A poor life this if, full of care, | |
| We have no time to stand and stare. | | | | |
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