Robert William Service Poems

The cow-moose comes to water, and the beaver's overbold,
The net is in the eddy of the stream;
The teepee stars the vivid sward with russet, red and gold,
And in the velvet gloom the fire's a-gleam.
...

I

Flat as a drum-head stretch the haggard snows;
The mighty skies are palisades of light;
...

You've heard of "Casey at The Bat,"
And "Casey's Tabble Dote";
But now it's time
To write a rhyme
...

Because I was a wonton wild
And welcomed many a lover,
Who is the father of my child
I wish I could discover.
...

Wars have been and wars will be
Till the human race is run;
Battles red by land and sea,
Never peace beneath the sun.
...

Light up your pipe again, old chum, and sit awhile with me;
I've got to watch the bannock bake -- how restful is the air!
You'd little think that we were somewhere north of Sixty-three,
Though where I don't exactly know, and don't precisely care.
...

Each sunny day upon my way
A goat I pass;
He has a beard of silver grey,
A bell of brass.
...

Because I have no garden and
No pence to buy,
Before the flower shop I stand
And sigh.
...

If you and I should chance to meet,
I guess you wouldn't care;
I'm sure you'd pass me in the street
As if I wasn't there;
...

"Let's make him a sailor," said Father,
"And he will adventure the sea."
"A soldier," said Mother, "is rather
What I would prefer him to be."
...