Robert William Service Poems

Men of the High North, the wild sky is blazing;
Islands of opal float on silver seas;
Swift splendors kindle, barbaric, amazing;
Pale ports of amber, golden argosies.
...

'Deny your God! ' they ringed me with their spears;
Blood-crazed were they, and reeking from the strife;
Hell-hot their hate, and venom-fanged their sneers,
And one man spat on me and nursed a knife.
...

Just think! some night the stars will gleam
Upon a cold, grey stone,
And trace a name with silver beam,
And lo! 'twill be your own.
...

Come out, O Little Moccasins, and frolic on the snow!
Come out, O tiny beaded feet, and twinkle in the light!
I'll play the old Red River reel, you used to love it so:
Awake, O Little Moccasins, and dance for me to-night!
...

It's not for laws I've broken
That bitter tears I've wept,
But solemn vows I've spoken
And promises unkept;
...

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.
...