Buildings of Newport (34)

The Church House

Located on the corner of Portland Street and Broad Street.
A blue plaque Link on the wall records that William Henry Davies (1871-1940), poet and author, was born here. W.H. Davies, one of the most popular poets of his time, spent a large part of his adult life as a tramp or hobo in the United States and United Kingdom.

He is probably best known for the opening two lines of the poem Leisure, first published in 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.