Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

No doubt it is a selfish thing/ To fly from human suffering

Two poems by W.H. Davies

W. H. Davies (1871–1940), a Welsh poet, lived most of his life as a tramp.
W. H. Davies (1871–1940), a Welsh poet, lived most of his life as a tramp.

In May

  • Yes, I will spend the livelong day 
  • With Nature in this month of May; 
  • And sit beneath the trees, and share 
  • My bread with birds whose homes are there; 
  • While cows lie down to eat, and sheep 
  • Stand to their necks in grass so deep; 
  • While birds do sing with all their might, 
  • As though they felt the earth in flight. 
  • This is the hour I dreamed of, when 
  • I sat surrounded by poor men; 
  • And thought of how the Arab sat 
  • Alone at evening, gazing at 
  • The stars that bubbled in clear skies; 
  • And of young dreamers, when their eyes 
  • Enjoyed methought a precious boon 
  • In the adventures of the Moon 
  • Whose light, behind the Clouds’ dark bars, 
  • Searched for her stolen flocks of stars. 
  • When I, hemmed in by wrecks of men, 
  • Thought of some lonely cottage then 
  • Full of sweet books; and miles of sea, 
  • With passing ships, in front of me; 
  • And having, on the other hand, 
  • A flowery, green, bird-singing land. 

In the Country

  • This life is sweetest; in this wood 
  • I hear no children cry for food; 
  • I see no woman, white with care; 
  • No man, with muscled wasting here.
  • No doubt it is a selfish thing 
  • To fly from human suffering; 
  • No doubt he is a selfish man, 
  • Who shuns poor creatures, sad and wan.
  • But ’tis a wretched life to face 
  • Hunger in almost every place; 
  • Cursed with a hand that’s empty, when 
  • The heart is full to help all men.
  • Can I admire the statue great, 
  • When living men starve at its feet! 
  • Can I admire the park’s green tree, 
  • A roof for homeless misery! 

W. H. Davies (1871–1940) was a Welsh poet who lived most of his life as a tramp in and around the United Kingdom and the U.S. He was considered one of the most popular poets during the time he was writing. Although he is often categorized with the Georgian poets, his themes and concerns — nature, his own hobo experiences, and the trials and tribulations of daily living — were not typical of the Georgians’ work.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Navy solves San Diego homeless crisis by retiring four locally moored ships

Decommision Accomplished
W. H. Davies (1871–1940), a Welsh poet, lived most of his life as a tramp.
W. H. Davies (1871–1940), a Welsh poet, lived most of his life as a tramp.

In May

  • Yes, I will spend the livelong day 
  • With Nature in this month of May; 
  • And sit beneath the trees, and share 
  • My bread with birds whose homes are there; 
  • While cows lie down to eat, and sheep 
  • Stand to their necks in grass so deep; 
  • While birds do sing with all their might, 
  • As though they felt the earth in flight. 
  • This is the hour I dreamed of, when 
  • I sat surrounded by poor men; 
  • And thought of how the Arab sat 
  • Alone at evening, gazing at 
  • The stars that bubbled in clear skies; 
  • And of young dreamers, when their eyes 
  • Enjoyed methought a precious boon 
  • In the adventures of the Moon 
  • Whose light, behind the Clouds’ dark bars, 
  • Searched for her stolen flocks of stars. 
  • When I, hemmed in by wrecks of men, 
  • Thought of some lonely cottage then 
  • Full of sweet books; and miles of sea, 
  • With passing ships, in front of me; 
  • And having, on the other hand, 
  • A flowery, green, bird-singing land. 

In the Country

  • This life is sweetest; in this wood 
  • I hear no children cry for food; 
  • I see no woman, white with care; 
  • No man, with muscled wasting here.
  • No doubt it is a selfish thing 
  • To fly from human suffering; 
  • No doubt he is a selfish man, 
  • Who shuns poor creatures, sad and wan.
  • But ’tis a wretched life to face 
  • Hunger in almost every place; 
  • Cursed with a hand that’s empty, when 
  • The heart is full to help all men.
  • Can I admire the statue great, 
  • When living men starve at its feet! 
  • Can I admire the park’s green tree, 
  • A roof for homeless misery! 

W. H. Davies (1871–1940) was a Welsh poet who lived most of his life as a tramp in and around the United Kingdom and the U.S. He was considered one of the most popular poets during the time he was writing. Although he is often categorized with the Georgian poets, his themes and concerns — nature, his own hobo experiences, and the trials and tribulations of daily living — were not typical of the Georgians’ work.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Best Kratom Capsules: Top Brands, Benefits & Where To Buy

Next Article

OSHA rules wall falls our fault

Who, U.S.?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.