What is this life if, full of care, 

We have no time to stand and stare.    



The hauntingly wise and poetic words of William Henry Davies echo in my thoughts this evening as I wind down, and try hard to keep my eyelids open, mildly conscious of the dull ache in my ankles and muscles from a day spent standing,cooking, teaching and doing chores.  These are the last hours and moments of the passing of a yet another day…a day well “spent”? 

It’s easy to let the days of motherhood slip by. Time sneaks past my bedroom door and when I’m not aware, I am reading to my Cares bedtime stories. Tonight, I pause for a moment to take stock. 

Did I take it all in?  The richness and brevity of this season in its fullness and glory? The million little echoes of laughter and wonderment? 

***

No time to stand beneath the boughs 

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

***

“Mum, are you listening to me?”

“Yes I am…”

“No you’re not. Put down your phone. Now.”

“Yes…”

“Now look at me…as I was telling you…”

***

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.

 ***

  
“Mummy, look here, I want to show you something…”

“Not now darling, I’m in the middle of something important now..”

“Will you just take a look here, it will only take 5minutes…”

“Oh alright….what is it you want to show me?”

“Look at this, it’s a spider and it’s spinning a web!”

***

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance, 

And watch her feet, how they can dance. 

***              

“Hey sweetie, did you notice the flowers here? They’re in bloom. I wonder when they suddenly sprung up.”

“They were here last week, and maybe even the week before, mummy.”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh.”

***

No time to wait till her mouth can 

Enrich that smile her eyes began. 

***  

“What are you doing sweet pea?”

(Giggles) “Nothing much.”

“Oh?”

“Just counting the number of moles I have on my hand.”

“Haha!”

“And how many do you have?”

“I have three and this one’s the biggest!”(wide grin)

***

A poor life this is if, full of care, 

We have no time to stand and stare.

***

  
Counselled by the words of this poetic balm, I am: 

1. Thankful for this ride called motherhood. Sometimes I need to come off the driver’s seat in order to take in the beauty of it all. 

2. Thankful for my children who help me keep the right pace, and stop me from hurtling through life like a speeding rocket. They are such a blessing and joy. 

3. Reminded to take my cares a day at a time, to be awake to stare into each living and breathing moment. These are the most divine gifts we must never take for granted. 

Good night and love to you all. 

***

“Leisure” is a poem by Welsh poet W. H. Davies, appearing originally in his Songs Of Joy and Others, published in 1911 by A. C. Fifield and then in Davies’ first anthology Collected Poems, by the same publisher in 1916.