I do not think that common verbs are necessarily a bad thing.
Should I've used "gazed", "glanced", "strolled" or "wander" instead? That would be pointless as they do not bring anything to the poem just clutters it up. When it says "watched" I do mean watched not gazed or glanced, if I did I would have used another word instead.
I may sound a tad angry, but I am not, I actually value good critizism. The good as well as the bad