Robert W. Service
Robert W. Service
Robert William Servicewas a British-Canadian poet and writer who has often been called "the Bard of the Yukon". He is best known for his poems "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee", from his first book, Songs of a Sourdough. His vivid descriptions of the Yukon and its people made it seem that he was a veteran of the Klondike gold rush, instead of the late-arriving bank clerk he actually was. "These humorous tales in verse...
NationalityScottish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth16 January 1874
dream men years
Alas! the road to Anywhere is pitfalled with disaster; There's hunger, want, and weariness, yet O we loved it so! As on we tramped exultantly, and no man was our master, And no man guessed what dreams were ours, as, swinging heel and toe, We tramped the road to Anywhere, the magic road to Anywhere, The tragic road to Anywhere, such dear, dim years ago.
failure men thinking
No man can be a failure if he thinks he's a success; If he thinks he is a winner, then he is.
lonely sunset fate
The lonely sunsets flare forlorn Down valleys dreadly desolate; The lonely mountains soar in scorn As still as death, as stern as fate.
people tough rough
The only society I like is rough and tough, and the tougher the better. There's where you get down to bedrock and meet human people.
wisest
Be sure your wisest words are those you do not say.
criticism france intense
I have an intense dislike for artificial society. In France, one could lead a free life - to do what one wanted to do without interference or criticism from one's neighbors.
thinking clock
Ah! the clock is always slow; it is later than you think.
music stars night
Then you've a hunch what the music meant . . . hunger and night and the stars.
children war grief
When children's children shall talk of War as a madness that may not be; When we thank our God for our grief today, and blazon from sea to sea In the name of the Dead the banner of Peace ... that will be Victory.
healing dark night
Some praise the Lord for Light, The living spark; I thank God for the Night The healing dark.
sea forgiving doubt
I have no doubts that the Devil grins, As seas of ink I spatter. Ye gods, forgive my “literary” sins – The other kind don’t matter.
yukon littles remember
I remember little of the Yukon or what I wrote there.
cheer believe fighting
Carry on! Carry on! Fight the good fight and true; Believe in you mission, greet life with a cheer;
years old-year progress
Old Year! upon the Stage of Time You stand to bow your last adieu; A moment, and the prompter's chime Will ring the curtain down on you.