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
wall book fall
I like to think that when I fall, A rain-drop in Death's shoreless sea, This shelf of books along the wall, Beside my bed, will mourn for me.
mother mean writing
Write verse, not poetry. The public wants verse. If you have a talent for poetry, then don't by any means mother it, but try your hand at verse.
thinking clock
Ah! the clock is always slow; it is later than you think.
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.
song wine long
His life, though none too long, Was never dull: Of woman, wine and song Bill had his full.
winning saving easy
Avoid extremes: be moderate In saving and in spending; An equable and easy gait Will win an easy ending.
wisest
Be sure your wisest words are those you do not say.
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.
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.
promise debt trails
Now a promise made is a debt unpaid, and the trail has its own stern code.
eye may goats
Even goats may have starlight in their eyes.
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.
trust truth honesty
A promise made is a debt unpaid.