DESERT ISLAND POEM 9

Simple, yet thought provoking and beautiful - although I fear that if it were written today it would be dismissed out of hand by any publisher and ridiculed on internet forums which is terribly sad.

 

I have no doubt that if I were to write those exact words today, a critic or publisher would complain about the lack of a question mark in the opening stanza, the rhyme would be deemed too simplistic and possibly forced with can/began, and the occurrence of masculine and feminine rhyme in stanza four would be deemed inconsistent and lazy; the list goes on and I believe supports my belief that modern poetry is stuck way too far up its own backside.

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Leisure is a poem I often find myself reciting aloud when out walking for it lends itself beautifully to such instances and acts as a constant reminder to slow down in these days when everything seems to be done in such a hurry. 

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There is no fancy language on display. There is a simplicity to it that fits the simplicity of the opening question and conclusion. I find it rather magnificent.

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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,

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.

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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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