We tried to recite the words of this poem on our walk this morning, and failed. But, Google found it, and it is worth sharing:
Leisure (1911)
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.
By Welshman W. H. Davies, it seems to be his best-known work (I have an anthology of his poems, and no others are nearly as familiar). It is justifiably famous. Its sentiments are right.
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If you are ever stressed or anxious, go find a field of cows, lean over the gate and watch one chewing the cud for about 20 minutes, following the movements of its jaws, the swallowing, the pause, the quick push from the diaphragm, the regurgitation of the next cud bolus into the mouth and the jaws chewing again.
It will calm you, and your vital signs and even your brain waves will alter. And it’s free!
(I like cows)
Play them jazz and they will c8me to have a chat with you. Bach works too.