And the days are not full enough
And the days are not full enough
And the nights are not full enough
And life slips by like a field mouse
Not shaking the grass…
– Ezra Pound
And the days are not full enough by Ezra Pound is easily one of my favourite poems. It resonates with me for its simplicity and ordinariness. I think everyone at times has been confused or unsettled by the arbitrary nature of life, and how we’re supposed to utilise the time we have. I often dream about all the things I want to do, and lay awake thinking I’ve not even scratched the surface of my seemingly growing list. I fear I’m becoming a ‘field mouse/ Not shaking the grass’.
But maybe fear isn’t all bad, right? It can be what you need to turn your desires into action. I think that’s often true for myself. That little bit of fear motivates me to strive for the kind of life I want to have. A life that involves travelling and living in the moment. For travelling gives birth to some of life’s greatest pleasures.
Here, there, and everywhere, is where I want to be: not in the desert of Whatshoudhavebeenandregret nor on the steppes of Wishandillbehappywhen, but rolling comfortably along the different contours of the world.
And even if I can’t always afford or have the time to go somewhere across the seas, exploring what’s on my doorstep can be just as meaningful. Marcel Proust said it best, ‘The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes’.
This poem says a lot in a few, short words. It reminds me that I really do need to shake a little harder to see the cause and effect of things I do. Everyone relates to the feeling of life passing them by, and fears their days can be spent more fruitfully. Many of us question whether we are leaving our mark on the world, or are we living as Ezra Pound describes “like a field mouse/ Not shaking the grass”? Drawing reference to a mouse and nature also illustrates how transient life is, sometimes it ‘slips by’.
The line ‘And the days are not full enough’ can easily provoke the most optimistic person to look introspectively at their life with an element of doubt. The poem works on a literal level – pointing out the limits of time, but it also works figuratively as “full enough” can represent how we utilise the time we have, and by using the repetition of “not full enough” Pound seems to be telling us that we do not use life to its full potential.
To read And the days are not full enough with the attention it deserves is to ask yourself “Are my days full enough?”.
12 Responses
A thoughtful post for sure and a gorgeous poem.
I can relate for sure. I think one of the motives driving me to travel is the fear of running out of time.
My family and I experienced 5 deaths in four years. Two were my younger cousins – completely separate events, ages 16 and 19. My great grandparents died within 9 months of each other and lived a full life.
My point is that you just can’t ever know when the end will come so enjoy the time we have doing what we love with whom we love.
I love poetry and one of the side effects of travel for me is to be inspired to write. I have written a chapbook of travel poems that I am in the midst of self publishing. It’s poems like this that make you feel connected to poets from the past that we admire.
Thanks for relating this poem to your own experiences, and by doing so proving how fragile life is.
“enjoy the time we have doing what we life with whom we love” is a very good mantra to love by.
Writing your chapbook must have been a cathartic as well as enjoyable experience. I hope you love the finished collection once it’s published – ( with the writing aside, I imagine there’s still so much to think about regarding the overall appearance of the chapbook, I doubt I could come up with a final decision!)
I loved this! What a beautiful poem! I always admired how much Ezra Pound could convey in only a few words!
I agree Julika, I’m always astonished in the way Pound and many other poets express meaning in just a handful of words!
What a well-written post. I feel like I’ve felt this way for a long time but not known how to express it, “travel provides some of life’s greatest experiences.” Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Ashley, I guess Ezra Pound helped me express the feeling, so this compliment goes to him! 🙂
My days are for sure quite full, but I don’t know if enough!
When I was a teen, and even when I was your age (which I’m not sure I am evaluating correctly, since Chinese people look way younger than they are!) I didn’t feel that my life was full enough thou. In that it has changed a lot for the better.
Ahhh glad to hear that your life has evolved for the better!
Yes, yes looking young was the bane of my teenager years. But I’m getting to the age now where I’m quite happy to be mistaken for being 10 years younger haha!
I think I could try to use that poem as a virtual mantra, great for keeping us mindful and aware of how important it is to maximize our time. Great point about whether it’s going abroad or right on your doorstep, the point is to attempt to max out what we have.
I’m glad you liked the poem! Yes, only recently have I started to maximise what’s on my doorstep, and it’s made me appreciate where I live so much more after years of wishing I was elsewhere!
Nothing, like a pandemic and lockdown, to focus one on the potency of the need to, shake the grass! 🙂
So true! I hope lockdown has been fruitful for you – out of darkness comes light.