Didactic Poem

REQUIEM

By Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

Under the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.

This be the verse you grave for me;
"Here he lies where he longed to be,
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill."

Paraphrase:

 Tells about the death of the person. The poet believe that the grave is a form of home that he will welcome when the time comes. He also requests that in this earth be placed upon his grave site as a remembrance of his life.

LEISURE

By William Henry Davies (1871-1940)

 

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 and 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.

Paraphrase:

This poem talks about the poet wonders whether it is worth leading a life which provides one with no time for leisure. Life must be balance. we have to thank God continuously. we have to extend our gratitude to God the Almighty. Don't spoil with unhappiness because it makes our belief fly away. We must have faith in our life.