Just recently, for some vague reason, my wife quoted the first two lines of 'Leisure' by William H Davies which are:
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
Davies wrote 'Leisure' around 1910 and in it he reflects on life at the time and the lack of time to appreciate all that is around us. I think this poem is even more appropriate today, here is the full concise 14 line (7 couplet) text:
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.
So, that leads me to the point of this post. After riding my scooter in to town this morning to collect my monthly prescription, I returned home by my regular back street route which includes passing the ruined site of the former Abbots Mill which was destroyed by fire in 1933. It is on the river Stour and had 2 waterwheels for which only the wheel races remain along with some original ironwork. I pass the site every time I go into town so there is nothing to draw my attention, kind of, 'No time to stand and stare'.
This morning was different for on my return journey I was pleasantly surprised to see a family of swans on the grass verge just above the river. I quietly drove my scooter through the gate, the site is open to visitors, and went quite close to the swans. They were completely undisturbed. I took a coupl of pictures on my mobile phone and then I DID 'stand and stare' a little in awe of these magnificent creatures....
I departed and they showed not the slightest interest in me or my scooter.
