More- NON-COPYRIGHT-Short Poems by Robert Service (1874-1958)

Only a Boche

We brought him in from between the lines: we'd better have let him lie;
For what's the use of risking one's skin for a tyke that's going to die?
What's the use of tearing him loose under a gruelling fire,
When he's shot in the head, and worse than dead, and all messed up on the wire?

However, I say, we brought him in. Diable! The mud was bad;
The trench was crooked and greasy and high, and oh, what a time we had!
And often we slipped, and often we tripped, but never he made a moan;
And how we were wet with blood and with sweat! but we carried him in like our own.

Now there he lies in the dug-out dim, awaiting the ambulance,
And the doctor shrugs his shoulders at him, and remarks, "He hasn't a chance."
And we squat and smoke at our game of bridge on the glistening, straw-packed floor,
And above our oaths we can hear his breath deep-drawn in a kind of snore.

For the dressing station is long and low, and the candles gutter dim,
And the mean light falls on the cold clay walls and our faces bristly and grim;
And we flap our cards on the lousy straw, and we laugh and jibe as we play,
And you'd never know that the cursed foe was less than a mile away.
As we con our cards in the rancid gloom, oppressed by that snoring breath,
You'd never dream that our broad roof-beam was swept by the broom of death.

Heigh-ho! My turn for the dummy hand; I rise and I stretch a bit;
The fetid air is making me yawn, and my cigarette's unlit,
So I go to the nearest candle flame, and the man we brought is there,
And his face is white in the shabby light, and I stand at his feet and stare.
Stand for a while, and quietly stare: for strange though it seems to be,
The dying Boche on the stretcher there has a queer resemblance to me.

It gives one a kind of a turn, you know, to come on a thing like that.
It's just as if I were lying there, with a turban of blood for a hat,
Lying there in a coat grey-green instead of a coat grey-blue,
With one of my eyes all shot away, and my brain half tumbling through;
Lying there with a chest that heaves like a bellows up and down,
And a cheek as white as snow on a grave, and lips that are coffee brown.

And confound him, too! He wears, like me, on his finger a wedding ring,
And around his neck, as around my own, by a greasy bit of string,
A locket hangs with a woman's face, and I turn it about to see:
Just as I thought... on the other side the faces of children three;
Clustered together cherub-like, three little laughing girls,
With the usual tiny rosebud mouths and the usual silken curls.
"Zut!" I say. "He has beaten me; for me, I have only two,"
And I push the locket beneath his shirt, feeling a little blue.

Oh, it isn't cheerful to see a man, the marvellous work of God,
Crushed in the mutilation mill, crushed to a smeary clod;
Oh, it isn't cheerful to hear him moan; but it isn't that I mind,
It isn't the anguish that goes with him, it's the anguish he leaves behind.
For his going opens a tragic door that gives on a world of pain,
And the death he dies, those who live and love, will die again and again.

So here I am at my cards once more, but it's kind of spoiling my play,
Thinking of those three brats of his so many a mile away.
War is war, and he's only a Boche, and we all of us take our chance;
But all the same I'll be mighty glad when I'm hearing the ambulance.
One foe the less, but all the same I'm heartily glad I'm not
The man who gave him his broken head, the sniper who fired the shot.

No trumps you make it, I think you said? You'll pardon me if I err;
For a moment I thought of other things... Mon Dieu! Quelle vache de guerre!

THE ORDINARY MAN

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;
You'd never look me in the face,
My modest mug to scan,
Because I'm just a commonplace
       And Ordinary Man.

But then, it may be, you are too
A guy of every day,
Who does the job he's told to do
And takes the wife his pay;
Who makes a home and kids his care,
And works with pick or pen. . . .
Why, Pal, I guess we're just a pair
       Of Ordinary Men.

We plug away and make no fuss,
Our feats are never crowned;
And yet it's common coves like us
Who make the world go round.
And as we steer a steady course
By God's predestined plan,
Hats off to that almighty Force:
       THE ORDINARY MAN.

The Cremation of Sam McGee

There are strange things done in the midnight sun
      By the men who moil for gold;
  The Arctic trails have their secret tales
      That would make your blood run cold;
  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
      But the queerest they ever did see
  Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
      I cremated Sam McGee.

Now Sam McGee was from Tennessee, where the cotton blooms and blows.
Why he left his home in the South to roam 'round the Pole, God only knows.
He was always cold, but the land of gold seemed to hold him like a spell;
Though he'd often say in his homely way that 'he'd sooner live in hell'.

On a Christmas Day we were mushing our way over the Dawson trail.
Talk of your cold! through the parka's fold it stabbed like a driven nail.
If our eyes we'd close, then the lashes froze till sometimes we couldn't see;
It wasn't much fun, but the only one to whimper was Sam McGee.

And that very night, as we lay packed tight in our robes beneath the snow,
And the dogs were fed, and the stars o'erhead were dancing heel and toe,
He turned to me, and 'Cap,' says he, 'I'll cash in this trip, I guess;
And if I do, I'm asking that you won't refuse my last request.'

Well, he seemed so low that I couldn't say no; then he says with a sort of moan:
'It's the cursed cold, and it's got right hold till I'm chilled clean through to the bone.
Yet 'taint being dead - it's my awful dread of the icy grave that pains;
So I want you to swear that, foul or fair, you'll cremate my last remains.'

A pal's last need is a thing to heed, so I swore I would not fail;
And we started on at the streak of dawn; but God! he looked ghastly pale.
He crouched on the sleigh, and he raved all day of his home in Tennessee;
And before nightfall a corpse was all that was left of Sam McGee.

There wasn't a breath in that land of death, and I hurried, horror-driven,
With a corpse half hid that I couldn't get rid, because of a promise given;
It was lashed to the sleigh, and it seemed to say: 'You may tax your brawn and brains,
But you promised true, and it's up to you to cremate those last remains.'

Now a promise made is a debt unpaid, and the trail has its own stern code.
In the days to come, though my lips were dumb, in my heart how I cursed that load.
In the long, long night, by the lone firelight, while the huskies, round in a ring,
Howled out their woes to the homeless snows -O God! how I loathed the thing.

And every day that quiet clay seemed to heavy and heavier grow;
And on I went, though the dogs were spent and the grub was getting low;
The trail was bad, and I felt half mad, but I swore I would not give in;
And I'd often sing to the hateful thing, and it hearkened with a grin.

Till I came to the marge of Lake Lebarge, and a derelict there lay;
It was jammed in the ice, but I saw in a trice it was called the 'Alice May.'
And I looked at it, and I thought a bit, and I looked at my frozen chum;
Then 'Here,' said I, with a sudden cry, 'is my cre-ma-tor-eum.'

Some planks I tore from the cabin floor, and I lit the boiler fire;
Some coal I found that was lying around, and I heaped the fuel higher;
The flames just soared, and the furnace roared - such a blaze you seldom see;
And I burrowed a hole in the glowing coal, and I stuffed in Sam McGee.

Then I made a hike, for I didn't like to hear him sizzle so;
And the heavens scowled, and the huskies howled, and the wind began to blow.
It was icy cold, but the hot sweat rolled down my cheeks, and I don't know why;
And the greasy smoke in an inky cloak went streaking down the sky.

I do not know how long in the snow I wrestled with grisly fear;
But the stars came out and they danced about ere again I ventured near;
I was sick with dread, but I bravely said: 'I'll just take a peep inside.
I guess he's cooked, and it's time I looked then the door I opened wide.

And there sat Sam, looking cool and calm, in the heart of the furnace roar;
And he wore a smile you could see a mile, and he said: 'Please close that door.
It's fine in here, but I greatly fear you'll let in the cold and storm -
Since I left Plumtree, down in Tennessee, it's the first time I've been warm.'

There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.

The Shooting of Dan McGrew

A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute saloon; The kid that handles the music-box was hitting a jag-time tune; Back of the bar, in a solo game, sat Dangerous Dan McGrew, And watching his luck was his light-o'-love, the lady that's known as Lou. When out of the night, which was fifty below, and into the din and glare, There stumbled a miner fresh from the creeks, dog-dirty, and loaded for bear. He looked like a man with a foot in the grave and scarcely the strength of a louse, Yet he tilted a poke of dust on the bar, and he called for drinks for the house. There was none could place the stranger's face, though we searched ourselves for a clue; But we drank his health, and the last to drink was Dangerous Dan McGrew. There's men that somehow just grip your eyes, and hold them hard like a spell; And such was he, and he looked to me like a man who had lived in hell; With a face most hair, and the dreary stare of a dog whose day is done, As he watered the green stuff in his glass, and the drops fell one by one. Then I got to figgering who he was, and wondering what he'd do, And I turned my head--and there watching him was the lady that's known as Lou. His eyes went rubbering round the room, and he seemed in a kind of daze, Till at last that old piano fell in the way of his wandering gaze. The rag-time kid was having a drink; there was no one else on the stool, So the stranger stumbles across the room, and flops down there like a fool. In a buckskin shirt that was glazed with dirt he sat, and I saw him sway, Then he clutched the keys with his talon hands--my God! but that man could play. Were you ever out in the Great Alone, when the moon was awful clear, And the icy mountains hemmed you in with a silence you most could hear; With only the howl of a timber wolf, and you camped there in the cold, A helf-dead thing in a stark, dead world, clean mad for the muck called gold; While high overhead, green, yellow, and red, the North Lights swept in bars?-- Then you've a hunch what the music meant...hunger and might and the stars. And hunger not of the belly kind, that's banished with bacon and beans, But the gnawing hunger of lonely men for a home and all that it means; For a fireside far from the cares that are, four walls and a roof above; But oh! so cramful of cosy joy, and crowded with a woman's love-- A woman dearer than all the world, and true as Heaven is true-- (God! how ghastly she looks through her rouge,--the lady that's known as Lou.) Then on a sudden the music changed, so soft that you scarce could hear; But you felt that your life had been looted clean of all that it once held dear; That someone had stolen the woman you loved; that her love was a devil's lie; That your guts were gone, and the best for you was to crawl away and die. 'Twas the crowning cry of a heart's despair, and it thrilled you through and through-- "I guess I'll make it a spread misere," said Dangerous Dan McGrew. The music almost dies away...then it burst like a pent-up flood; And it seemed to say, "Repay, repay," and my eyes were blind with blood. The thought came back of an ancient wrong, and it stung like a frozen lash, And the lust awoke to kill, to kill...then the music stopped with a crash, And the stranger turned, and his eyes they burned in a most peculiar way; In a buckskin shirt that was glazed with dirt he sat, and I saw him sway; Then his lips went in in a kind of grin, and he spoke, and his voice was calm, And "Boys," says he, "you don't know me, and none of you care a damn; But I want to state, and my words are straight, and I'll bet my poke they're true, That one of you is a hound of hell...and that one is Dan McGrew." Then I ducked my head and the lights went out, and two guns blazed in the dark; And a woman screamed, and the lights went up, and two men lay stiff and stark. Pitched on his head, and pumped full of lead, was Dangerous Dan McGrew, While the man from the creeks lay clutched to the breast of the lady that's known as Lou. These are the simple facts of the case, and I guess I ought to know. They say that the stranger was crazed with "hooch," and I'm not denying it's so. I'm not so wise as the lawyer guys, but strictly between us two-- The woman that kissed him and--pinched his poke--was the lady known as Lou. A Grain Of Sand If starry space no limit knows       And sun succeeds to sun, There is no reason to suppose       Our earth the only one. 'Mid countless constellations cast       A million worlds may be, With each a God to bless or blast       And steer to destiny.     Just think! A million gods or so       To guide each vital stream, With over all to boss the show       A Deity supreme. Such magnitudes oppress my mind;       From cosmic space it swings; So ultimately glad to find       Relief in little things. For look! Within my hollow hand,       While round the earth careens, I hold a single grain of sand       And wonder what it means. Ah! If I had the eyes to see,       And brain to understand, I think Life's mystery might be       Solved in this grain of sand. My Ancestors A barefoot boy I went to school          To save a cobbler's fee, For though the porridge pot was full          A frugal folk were we; We baked our bannocks, spun our wool,          And counted each bawbee. We reft our living from the soil,          And I was shieling bred; My father's hands were warped with toil,          And crooked with grace he said. My mother made the kettle boil          As spinning wheel she fed. My granny smoked a pipe of clay,          And yammered of her youth; The hairs upon her chin were grey,          She had a single tooth; Her mutch was grimed, I grieve to say,          For I would speak the truth. You of your ancestry may boast,—          Well, here I brag of mine; For if there is a heaven host          I hope they'll be in line: My dad with collie at his heel          In plaid of tartan stripe; My mammie with her spinning wheel,          My granny with her pipe. The Quitter When you're lost in the Wild, and you're scared as a child,     And Death looks you bang in the eye, And you're sore as a boil, it's according to Hoyle     To cock your revolver and . . . die. But the Code of a Man says: "Fight all you can,"     And self-dissolution is barred. In hunger and woe, oh, it's easy to blow . . .     It's the hell-served-for-breakfast that's hard. "You're sick of the game!" Well, now, that's a shame.     You're young and you're brave and you're bright. "You've had a raw deal!" I know — but don't squeal,     Buck up, do your damnedest, and fight. It's the plugging away that will win you the day,     So don't be a piker, old pard! Just draw on your grit; it's so easy to quit:     It's the keeping-your-chin-up that's hard. It's easy to cry that you're beaten — and die;     It's easy to crawfish and crawl; But to fight and to fight when hope's out of sight —     Why, that's the best game of them all! And though you come out of each gruelling bout,     All broken and beaten and scarred, Just have one more try — it's dead easy to die,     It's the keeping-on-living that's hard. My Mate I've been sittin' starin', starin' at 'is muddy pair of boots,     And tryin' to convince meself it's 'im. (Look out there, lad! That sniper — 'e's a dysey when 'e shoots;     'E'll be layin' of you out the same as Jim.) Jim as lies there in the dug-out wiv 'is blanket round 'is 'ead,     To keep 'is brains from mixin' wiv the mud; And 'is face as white as putty, and 'is overcoat all red,     Like 'e's spilt a bloomin' paint-pot — but it's blood. And I'm tryin' to remember of a time we wasn't pals.     'Ow often we've played 'ookey, 'im and me; And sometimes it was music-'alls, and sometimes it was gals,     And even there we 'ad no disagree. For when 'e copped Mariar Jones, the one I liked the best,     I shook 'is 'and and loaned 'im 'arf a quid; I saw 'im through the parson's job, I 'elped 'im make 'is nest,     I even stood god-farther to the kid. Sunshine I Flat as a drum-head stretch the haggard snows; The mighty skies are palisades of light; The stars are blurred; the silence grows and grows; Vaster and vaster vaults the icy night. Here in my sleeping-bag I cower and pray: "Silence and night, have pity! stoop and slay." I have not slept for many, many days. I close my eyes with weariness — that's all. I still have strength to feed the drift-wood blaze, That flickers weirdly on the icy wall. I still have strength to pray: "God rest her soul, Here in the awful shadow of the Pole." There in the cabin's alcove low she lies, Still candles gleaming at her head and feet; All snow-drop white, ash-cold, with closed eyes, Lips smiling, hands at rest — O God, how sweet! How all unutterably sweet she seems. . . . Not dead, not dead indeed — she dreams, she dreams. II "Sunshine", I called her, and she brought, I vow, God's blessed sunshine to this life of mine. I was a rover, of the breed who plough Life's furrow in a far-flung, lonely line; The wilderness my home, my fortune cast In a wild land of dearth, barbaric, vast. When did I see her first? Long had I lain Groping my way to life through fevered gloom. Sudden the cloud of darkness left my brain; A velvet bar of sunshine pierced the room, And in that mellow glory aureoled She stood, she stood, all golden in its gold. Sunshine! O miracle! the earth grew glad; Radiant each blade of grass, each living thing. What a huge strength, high hope, proud will I had! All the wide world with rapture seemed to ring. Would she but wed me? YES: then fared we forth Into the vast, unvintageable North. III In Muskrat Land the conies leap, The wavies linger in their flight; The jewelled, snakelike rivers creep; The sun, sad rogue, is out all night; The great wood bison paws the sand, In Muskrat Land, in Muskrat Land. In Muskrat Land dim streams divide The tundras belted by the sky. How sweet in slim canoe to glide, And dream, and let the world go by! Build gay camp-fires on greening strand! In Muskrat Land, in Muskrat Land. IV And so we dreamed and drifted, she and I; And how she loved that free, unfathomed life! There in the peach-bloom of the midnight sky, The silence welded us, true man and wife. Then North and North invincibly we pressed Beyond the Circle, to the world's white crest. And on the wind-flailed Arctic waste we stayed, Dwelt with the Huskies by the Polar sea. Fur had they, white fox, marten, mink to trade, And we had food-stuff, bacon, flour and tea. So we made snug, chummed up with all the band: Sudden the Winter swooped on Husky Land. V What was that ill so sinister and dread, Smiting the tribe with sickness to the bone? So that we waked one morn to find them fled; So that we stood and stared, alone, alone. Bravely she smiled and looked into my eyes; Laughed at their troubled, stern, foreboding pain; Gaily she mocked the menace of the skies, Turned to our cheery cabin once again, Saying: "'Twill soon be over, dearest one, The long, long night: then O the sun, the sun!" VI God made a heart of gold, of gold, Shining and sweet and true; Gave it a home of fairest mould, Blest it, and called it — You. God gave the rose its grace of glow, And the lark its radiant glee; But, better than all, I know, I know God gave you, Heart, to me. VII She was all sunshine in those dubious days; Our cabin beaconed with defiant light; We chattered by the friendly drift-wood blaze; Closer and closer cowered the hag-like night. A wolf-howl would have been a welcome sound, And there was none in all that stricken land; Yet with such silence, darkness, death around, Learned we to love as few can understand. Spirit with spirit fused, and soul with soul, There in the sullen shadow of the Pole. VIII What was that haunting horror of the night? Brave was she; buoyant, full of sunny cheer. Why was her face so small, so strangely white? Then did I turn from her, heart-sick with fear; Sought in my agony the outcast snows; Prayed in my pain to that insensate sky; Grovelled and sobbed and cursed, and then arose: "Sunshine! O heart of gold! to die! to die!" IX She died on Christmas day — it seems so sad That one you love should die on Christmas day. Head-bowed I knelt by her; O God! I had No tears to shed, no moan, no prayer to pray. I heard her whisper: "Call me, will you, dear? They say Death parts, but I won't go away. I will be with you in the cabin here; Oh I will plead with God to let me stay! Stay till the Night is gone, till Spring is nigh, Till sunshine comes . . . be brave . . . I'm tired . . . good-bye. . . ." X For weeks, for months I have not seen the sun; The minatory dawns are leprous pale; The felon days malinger one by one; How like a dream Life is! how vain! how stale! I, too, am faint; that vampire-like disease Has fallen on me; weak and cold am I, Hugging a tiny fire in fear I freeze: The cabin must be cold, and so I try To bear the frost, the frost that fights decay, The frost that keeps her beautiful alway. XI She lies within an icy vault; It glitters like a cave of salt. All marble-pure and angel-sweet With candles at her head and feet, Under an ermine robe she lies. I kiss her hands, I kiss her eyes: "Come back, come back, O Love, I pray, Into this house, this house of clay! Answer my kisses soft and warm; Nestle again within my arm. Come! for I know that you are near; Open your eyes and look, my dear. Just for a moment break the mesh; Back from the spirit leap to flesh. Weary I wait; the night is black; Love of my life, come back, come back!" XII Last night maybe I was a little mad, For as I prayed despairful by her side, Such a strange, antic visioning I had: Lo! it did seem her eyes were open wide. Surely I must have dreamed! I stared once more. . . . No, 'twas a candle's trick, a shadow cast. There were her lashes locking as before. (Oh, but it filled me with a joy so vast!) No, 'twas a freak, a fancy of the brain, (Oh, but to-night I'll try again, again!) XIII It was no dream; now do I know that Love Leapt from the starry battlements of Death; For in my vigil as I bent above, Calling her name with eager, burning breath, Sudden there came a change: again I saw The radiance of the rose-leaf stain her cheek; Rivers of rapture thrilled in sunny thaw; Cleft were her coral lips as if to speak; Curved were her tender arms as if to cling; Open the flower-like eyes of lucent blue, Looking at me with love so pitying That I could fancy Heaven shining through. "Sunshine," I faltered, "stay with me, oh, stay!" Yet ere I finished, in a moment's flight, There in her angel purity she lay — Ah! but I know she'll come again to-night. Even as radiant sword leaps from the sheath Soul from the body leaps—we call it Death. XIV Even as this line I write, Do I know that she is near; Happy am I, every night Comes she back to bid me cheer; Kissing her, I hold her fast; Win her into life at last. Did I dream that yesterday On yon mountain ridge a glow Soft as moonstone paled away, Leaving less forlorn the snow? Could it be the sun? Oh, fain Would I see the sun again! Oh, to see a coral dawn Gladden to a crocus glow! Day's a spectre dim and wan, Dancing on the furtive snow; Night's a cloud upon my brain: Oh, to see the sun again! You who find us in this place, Have you pity in your breast; Let us in our last embrace, Under earth sun-hallowed rest. Night's a claw upon my brain: Oh, to see the sun again! XV The Sun! at last the Sun! I write these lines, Here on my knees, with feeble, fumbling hand. Look! in yon mountain cleft a radiance shines, Gleam of a primrose — see it thrill, expand, Grow glorious. Dear God be praised! it streams Into the cabin in a gush of gold. Look! there she stands, the angel of my dreams, All in the radiant shimmer aureoled; First as I saw her from my bed of pain; First as I loved her when the darkness passed. Now do I know that Life is not in vain; Now do I know God cares, at last, at last! Light outlives dark, joy grief, and Love's the sum: Heart of my heart! Sunshine! I come . . . I come. . . . So when the war broke out, sez 'e: "Well, wot abaht it, Joe?"     "Well, wot abaht it, lad?" sez I to 'im. 'Is missis made a awful fuss, but 'e was mad to go,     ('E always was 'igh-sperrited was Jim). Well, none of it's been 'eaven, and the most of it's been 'ell,     But we've shared our baccy, and we've 'alved our bread. We'd all the luck at Wipers, and we shaved through Noove Chapelle,     And . . . that snipin' barstard gits 'im on the 'ead. Now wot I wants to know is, why it wasn't me was took?     I've only got meself, 'e stands for three. I'm plainer than a louse, while 'e was 'andsome as a dook;     'E always was a better man than me. 'E was goin' 'ome next Toosday; 'e was 'appy as a lark,     And 'e'd just received a letter from 'is kid; And 'e struck a match to show me, as we stood there in the dark,     When . . . that bleedin' bullet got 'im on the lid. 'E was killed so awful sudden that 'e 'adn't time to die.     'E sorto jumped, and came down wiv a thud. Them corpsy-lookin' star-shells kept a-streamin' in the sky,     And there 'e lay like nothin' in the mud. And there 'e lay so quiet wiv no mansard to 'is 'ead,     And I'm sick, and blamed if I can understand: The pots of 'alf and 'alf we've 'ad, and zip! like that — 'e's dead,     Wiv the letter of 'is nipper in 'is 'and. There's some as fights for freedom and there's some as fights for fun,     But me, my lad, I fights for bleedin' 'ate. You can blame the war and blast it, but I 'opes it won't be done     Till I gets the bloomin' blood-price for me mate. It'll take a bit o' bayonet to level up for Jim;     Then if I'm spared I think I'll 'ave a bid, Wiv 'er that was Mariar Jones to take the place of 'im,     To sorter be a farther to 'is kid. The Lure Of Little Voices There's a cry from out the loneliness — oh, listen, Honey, listen!    Do you hear it, do you fear it, you're a-holding of me so? You're a-sobbing in your sleep, dear, and your lashes, how they glisten —    Do you hear the Little Voices all a-begging me to go? All a-begging me to leave you. Day and night they're pleading, praying,    On the North-wind, on the West-wind, from the peak and from the plain; Night and day they never leave me — do you know what they are saying?    "He was ours before you got him, and we want him once again." Yes, they're wanting me, they're haunting me, the awful lonely places;    They're whining and they're whimpering as if each had a soul; They're calling from the wilderness, the vast and God-like spaces,    The stark and sullen solitudes that sentinel the Pole. They miss my little camp-fires, ever brightly, bravely gleaming    In the womb of desolation, where was never man before; As comradeless I sought them, lion-hearted, loving, dreaming,    And they hailed me as a comrade, and they loved me evermore. And now they're all a-crying, and it's no use me denying;    The spell of them is on me and I'm helpless as a child; My heart is aching, aching, but I hear them, sleeping, waking;    It's the Lure of Little Voices, it's the mandate of the Wild. I'm afraid to tell you, Honey, I can take no bitter leaving;    But softly in the sleep-time from your love I'll steal away. Oh, it's cruel, dearie, cruel, and it's God knows how I'm grieving;    But His loneliness is calling, and He knows I must obey. Wrestling Match What guts he had, the Dago lad Who fought that Frenchman grim with guile; For nigh an hour they milled like mad, And mauled the mat in rare old style. Then up and launched like catapults, And tangled, twisted, clinched and clung, Then tossed in savage somersaults, And hacked and hammered, ducked and swung; And groaned and grunted, sighed and cried, Now knotted tight, now springing free; To bend each other's bones they tried, Their faces crisped in agony. . . . Then as a rage rose, with tiger-bound, They clashed and smashed, and flailed and flung, And tripped and slipped, with hammer-pound, And streamin sweat and straining lung, The mighty mob roared out their joy, And wild I heard a wench near-by Shriek to the Frenchman: "Atta Boy! Go to it, Jo-jo - kill the guy." The boy from Rome was straight and slim, And swift and springy as a bow; The man from Metz was gaunt and grim, But all the tricks he seemed to know. 'Twixt knee and calf with scissors-lock, He gripped the lad's arm like a vice; The prisoned hand went white as chalk, And limp as death and cold as ice. And then he tried to break the wrist, And kidney-pounded with his knee, But with a cry and lightning twist The Roman youth had wrested free. . . . Then like mad bulls they hooked and mauled, And blindly butted, bone on bone; Spread-eagled on the mat they sprawled, And writhed and rocked with bitter moan. Then faltered to their feet and hung Upon the ropes with eyes of woe; And then the Frenchman stooped and flung The wop among the mob below, Who helped to hoist him back again, With cheers and jeers and course cat-calls, To where the Gaul with might and main Hung poised to kick his genitals And drop him senseless in the ring. . . . And then an old man cried: "My son!" The maddened mob began to fling Their chairs about - the fight was done. Soft silver sandals tapped the sea; Palms listened to the lack of sound; The lucioles were lilting free, The peace was precious and profound. Oh had it been an evil dream? . . . A chapel of the Saints I sought, And thee before the alter gleam I clasped my hands and thought and thought. . . . Eighty Not Out In the gay, gleamy morn I adore to go walking, And oh what sweet people I meet on my way! I hail them with joy for I love to be talking, Although I have nothing important to say. I cheer the old grannies whose needles are plying; I watch the wee kiddies awhoop at their play: When sunny the sky is, you'll not be denying The morning's the bonniest bit of the day. With hair that is silver the look should be smiling, And lips that are ageful should surely be wise; And so I go gaily with gentle beguiling, Abidding for cheer in the bright of your eyes. I look at the vines and the blossoms with loving; I listen with glee to the thrush on the spray: And so with a song in my heart I am proving That life is more beautiful every day. For I think that old age is the rapture of living, And though I've had many a birthday of cheer, Of all the delectable days of God's giving, The best of the bunch is my eightieth year. So I will go gay in the beam of the morning Another decade,—Oh I haven't a doubt! Adoring the world of the Lord's glad adorning, And sing to the glory of Ninety-not-Out. The Quest I sought Him on the purple seas, I sought Him on the peaks aflame; Amid the gloom of giant trees And canyons lone I called His name; The wasted ways of earth I trod: In vain! In vain! I found not God. I sought Him in the hives of men, The cities grand, the hamlets gray, The temples old beyond my ken, The tabernacles of to-day; All life that is, from cloud to clod I sought. . . . Alas! I found not God. Then after roamings far and wide, In streets and seas and deserts wild, I came to stand at last beside The death-bed of my little child. Lo! as I bent beneath the rod I raised my eyes . . . and there was God. A Hero Three times I had the lust to kill, To clutch a throat so young and fair, And squeeze with all my might until No breath of being lingered there. Three times I drove the demon out, Though on my brow was evil sweat. . . . And yet I know beyond a doubt He'll get me yet, he'll get me yet. I know I'm mad, I ought to tell The doctors, let them care for me, Confine me in a padded cell And never, never set me free; But Oh how cruel that would be! For I am young - and comely too . . . Yet dim my demon I can see, And there is but one thing to do. Three times I beat the foul fiend back; The fourth, I know he will prevail, And so I'll seek the railway track And lay my head upon the rail, And sight the dark and distant train, And hear its thunder louder roll, Coming to crush my cursed brain . . . Oh God, have mercy on my soul! Birthdays Let us have birthdays every day, (I had the thought while I was shaving) Because a birthday should be gay, And full of grace and good behaving. We can't have cakes and candles bright, And presents are beyond our giving, But let lt us cherish with delight The birthday way of lovely living. For I have passed three-score and ten And I can count upon my fingers The years I hope to bide with men, (Though by God's grace one often lingers.) So in the summers left to me, Because I'm blest beyond my merit, I hope with gratitude and glee To sparkle with the birthday spirit. Let me inform myself each day Who's proudmost on the natal roster; If Washington or Henry Clay, Or Eugene Field or Stephen Foster. oh lots of famous folks I'll find Who more than measure to my rating, And so thanksgivingly inclined Their birthdays I'll be celebrating. For Oh I know the cheery glow| Of Anniversary rejoicing; Let me reflect its radiance so My daily gladness I'll be voicing. And though I'm stooped and silver-haired, Let me with laughter make the hearth gay, So by the gods I may be spared Each year to hear: "Pop, Happy Birthday. Triumph Why am I full of joy although     It drizzles on the links? Why am I buying Veuve Cliquot,     And setting up the drinks? Why stand I like a prince amid     My pals and envy none? Ye gods of golf! Today I did     A Hole in One. I drove my ball to heaven high,     It over-topped the hill; I tried to guess how it would lie,     If on the fairway still. I climbed the rise, so sure I'd hit     It straight towards the green: I looked and looked,—no trace of it     Was to be seen. My partner putted to the pin,     Then hoarse I heard him call; And lo! So snug the hole within     Gleamed up my ball. Yea, it was mine. Oh what a thrill!     What dandy drive I'd done By luck,—well, grant a little skill,     I'd holed in one. Say that my score is eighty odd,     And though I won't give up,— Say that as round the course I plod,     I never win a cup. Say that my handicap's nineteen,     And of my game make fun, But holler: 'On the seventh green     HE HOLED IN ONE.' Bessie's Boil Says I to my Missis: "Ba goom, lass! you've something I see, on your mind." Says she: "You are right, Sam, I've something. It 'appens it's on me be'ind. A Boil as 'ud make Job jealous. It 'urts me no end when I sit." Says I: "Go to 'ospittel, Missis. They might 'ave to coot it a bit." Says she: "I just 'ate to be showin' the part of me person it's at." Says I: "Don't be fussy; them doctors see sights more 'orrid than that." So Misses goes off togged up tasty, and there at the 'ospittel door They tells 'er to see the 'ouse Doctor, 'oose office is Room Thirty-four. So she 'unts up and down till she finds it, and knocks and a voice says: "Come in," And there is a 'andsome young feller, in white from 'is 'eels to 'is chin. "I've got a big boil," says my Missis. "It 'urts me for fair when I sit, And Sam (that's me 'usband) 'as asked me to ask you to coot it a bit." Then blushin' she plucks up her courage, and bravely she shows 'im the place, And 'e gives it a proper inspection, wi' a 'eap o' surprise on 'is face. Then 'e says wi' an accent o' Scotland: "Whit ye hae is a bile, Ah can feel, But ye'd better consult the heid Dockter; they caw him Professor O'Niel. He's special for biles and carbuncles. Ye'll find him in Room Sixty-three. No charge, Ma'am. It's been a rare pleasure. Jist tell him ye're comin' from me." So Misses she thanks 'im politely, and 'unts up and down as before, Till she comes to a big 'andsome room with "Professor O'Neil" on the door. Then once more she plucks up her courage, and knocks, and a voice says: "All right." So she enters, and sees a fat feller wi' whiskers, all togged up in white. "I've got a big boil," says my Missis, "and if ye will kindly permit, I'd like for to 'ave you inspect it; it 'urts me like all when I sit." So blushin' as red as a beet-root she 'astens to show 'im the spot, And 'e says wi' a look o' amazement: "Sure, Ma'am, it must hurt ye a lot." Then 'e puts on 'is specs to regard it, and finally says wi' a frown: "I'll bet it's as sore as the divvle, especially whin ye sit down. I think it's a case for the Surgeon; ye'd better consult Doctor Hoyle. I've no hisitation in sayin' yer boil is a hill of a boil." So Misses she thanks 'im for sayin' her boil is a hill of a boil, And 'unts all around till she comes on a door that is marked: "Doctor Hoyle." But by now she 'as fair got the wind up, and trembles in every limb; But she thinks: "After all, 'e's a Doctor. Ah moosn't be bashful wi' 'im." She's made o' good stuff is the Missis, so she knocks and a voice says: "Oos there?" "It's me," says ma Bessie, an' enters a room which is spacious and bare. And a wise-lookin' old feller greets 'er, and 'e too is togged up in white. "It's the room where they coot ye," thinks Bessie; and shakes like a jelly wi' fright. "Ah got a big boil," begins Missis, "and if ye are sure you don't mind, I'd like ye to see it a moment. It 'urts me, because it's be'ind." So thinkin' she'd best get it over, she 'astens to show 'im the place, And 'e stares at 'er kindo surprised like, an' gets very red in the face. But 'e looks at it most conscientious, from every angle of view, Then 'e says wi' a shrug o' 'is shoulders: "Pore Lydy, I'm sorry for you. It wants to be cut, but you should 'ave a medical bloke to do that. Sye, why don't yer go to the 'orsespittel, where all the Doctors is at? Ye see, Ma'am, this part o' the buildin' is closed on account o' repairs; Us fellers is only the pynters, a-pyntin' the 'alls and the stairs." Book Borrower I am a mild man, you'll agree,         But red my rage is, When folks who borrow books from me         Turn down their pages. Or when a chap a book I lend,         And find he's loaned it Without permission to a friend -         As if he owned it. But worst of all I hate those crooks         (May hell-fires burn them!) Who beg the loan of cherished books         And don't return them. My books are tendrils of myself         No shears can sever . . . May he who rapes one from its shelf         Be damned forever. Your Poem My poem may be yours indeed In melody and tone, If in its rhythm you can read A music of your own; If in its pale woof you can weave Your lovelier design, 'Twill make my lyric, I believe,        More yours than mine. I'm but a prompter at the best; Crude cues are all I give. In simple stanzas I suggest - 'Tis you who make them live. My bit of rhyme is but a frame, And if my lines you quote, I think, although they bear my name,        'Tis you who wrote. Yours is the beauty that you see In any words I sing; The magic and the melody 'Tis you, dear friend, who bring. Yea, by the glory and the gleam, The loveliness that lures Your thought to starry heights of dream,        The poem's yours. Resolutions On The Wire O God, take the sun from the sky!     It's burning me, scorching me up. God, can't You hear my cry?   Water! A poor, little cup! It's laughing, the cursed sun!     See how it swells and swells Fierce as a hundred hells!     God, will it never have done? It's searing the flesh on my bones;     It's beating with hammers red My eyeballs into my head;     It's parching my very moans. See! It's the size of the sky,     And the sky is a torrent of fire, Foaming on me as I lie     Here on the wire . . . the wire. . . . Of the thousands that wheeze and hum     Heedlessly over my head, Why can't a bullet come,     Pierce to my brain instead, Blacken forever my brain,     Finish forever my pain? Here in the hellish glare     Why must I suffer so? Is it God doesn't care?     Is it God doesn't know? Oh, to be killed outright,     Clean in the clash of the fight! That is a golden death,     That is a boon; but this . . . Drawing an anguished breath     Under a hot abyss, Under a stooping sky     Of seething, sulphurous fire, Scorching me up as I lie     Here on the wire . . . the wire. . . . Hasten, O God, Thy night!     Hide from my eyes the sight Of the body I stare and see     Shattered so hideously. I can't believe that it's mine.     My body was white and sweet, Flawless and fair and fine,     Shapely from head to feet; Oh no, I can never be     The thing of horror I see Under the rifle fire,     Trussed on the wire . . . the wire. . . . Of night and of death I dream;     Night that will bring me peace, Coolness and starry gleam,     Stillness and death's release: Ages and ages have passed, —     Lo! it is night at last. Night! but the guns roar out.     Night! but the hosts attack. Red and yellow and black     Geysers of doom upspout. Silver and green and red     Star-shells hover and spread. Yonder off to the right     Fiercely kindles the fight; Roaring near and more near,     Thundering now in my ear; Close to me, close . . . Oh, hark!     Someone moans in the dark. I hear, but I cannot see,     I hear as the rest retire, Someone is caught like me,     Caught on the wire . . . the wire. . . . Again the shuddering dawn,     Weird and wicked and wan; Again, and I've not yet gone.     The man whom I heard is dead. Now I can understand:     A bullet hole in his head, A pistol gripped in his hand.     Well, he knew what to do, — Yes, and now I know too. . . .   Hark the resentful guns!     Oh, how thankful am I To think my beloved ones     Will never know how I die! I've suffered more than my share; I'm shattered beyond repair; I've fought like a man the fight, And now I demand the right (God! how his fingers cling!) To do without shame this thing. Good! there's a bullet still;     Now I'm ready to fire; Blame me, God, if You will,     Here on the wire . . . the wire. . . . A Plea Why need we newer arms invent,     Poor peoples to destroy? With what we have let's be content     And perfect their employ. With weapons that may millions kill,     Why should we seek for more, A brighter spate of blood to spill,     A deeper sea of gore?     The lurid blaze of atom light     Vast continents will blind, And steep in centuries of night     Despairing humankind. So let's be glad for gun and blade,     To fight with honest stuff: Are tank, block-buster, hand-grenade     And napalm not enough? Oh to go back a thousand years     When arrows winged their way, When foemen fell upon the spears     And swords were swung to slay! Behold! Belching in Heaven black     Mushrooms obscene! Dear God, the brave days give us back,               When wars were clean! A Busy Man This crowded life of God's good giving No man has relished more than I; I've been so goldarned busy living I've never had the time to die. So busy fishing, hunting, roving, Up on my toes and fighting fit; So busy singing, laughing, loving, I've never had the time to quit. I've never been one for thinking I've always been the action guy; I've done my share of feasting, drinking, And lots of wenching on the sly. What all the blasted cosmic show meant, I've never tried to understand; I've always lived just for the moment, And done the thing that came to hand. And now I'll toddle to the garden And light a good old Henry Clay. I'm ninety odd, so Lord, please pardon My frequent lapses by the way. I'm getting tired; the sunset lingers; The evening star serenes the sky; The damn cigar burns to my fingers . . . I guess . . . I'll take . . . time off . . . to die. The Philanderer Oh, have you forgotten those afternoons With riot of roses and amber skies, When we thrilled to the joy of a million Junes, And I sought for your soul in the deeps of your eyes? I would love you, I promised, forever and aye, And I meant it too; yet, oh, isn't it odd? When we met in the Underground to-day I addressed you as Mary instead of as Maude. Oh, don't you remember that moonlit sea, With us on a silver trail afloat, When I gracefully sank on my bended knee At the risk of upsetting our little boat? Oh, I vowed that my life was blighted then, As friendship you proffered with mournful mien; But now as I think of your children ten, I'm glad you refused me, Evangeline. Oh, is that moment eternal still When I breathed my love in your shell-like ear, And you plucked at your fan as a maiden will, And you blushed so charmingly, Guenivere? Like a worshiper at your feet I sat; For a year and a day you made me mad; But now, alas! you are forty, fat, And I think: What a lucky escape I had! Oh, maidens I've set in a sacred shrine, Oh, Rosamond, Molly and Mignonette, I've deemed you in turn the most divine, In turn you've broken my heart . . . and yet It's easily mended. What's past is past. To-day on Lucy I'm going to call; For I'm sure that I know true love at last, And She is the fairest girl of all. A Character How often do I wish I were What people call a character; A ripe and cherubic old chappie Who lives to make his fellows happy; With in his eyes a merry twinkle, And round his lips a laughing wrinkle; Who radiating hope and cheer Grows kindlier with every year. For this ideal let me strive, And keep the lad in me alive; Nor argument nor anger know, But my own way serenely go; The woes of men to understand, Yet walk with humour hand in hand; To love each day and wonder why Folks are not so jocund as I. So be you simple, decent, kind, With gentle heart and quiet mind; And if to righteous anger stung, Restrain your temper and your tongue. Let thought for others be your guide, And patience triumph over pride . . . With charity for those who err, Live life so folks may say you were— God bless your heart!—A Character. The Telegraph Operator    I will not wash my face;        I will not brush my hair;    I "pig" around the place —        There's nobody to care.    Nothing but rock and tree;        Nothing but wood and stone;    Oh God, it's hell to be        Alone, alone, alone.    Snow-peaks and deep-gashed draws       Corral me in a ring.   I feel as if I was       The only living thing   On all this blighted earth;       And so I frowst and shrink,   And crouching by my hearth,       I hear the thoughts I think.   I think of all I miss —       The boys I used to know;   The girls I used to kiss;       The coin I used to blow:   The bars I used to haunt;       The racket and the row;   The beers I didn't want       (I wish I had 'em now).   Day after day the same,       Only a little worse;   No one to grouch or blame —       Oh, for a loving curse!   Oh, in the night I fear,       Haunted by nameless things,   Just for a voice to cheer,       Just for a hand that clings!   Faintly as from a star       Voices come o'er the line;   Voices of ghosts afar,   &160;&160;Not in this world of mine.   Lives in whose loom I grope;       Words in whose weft I hear   Eager the thrill of hope,       Awful the chill of fear.   I'm thinking out aloud;       I reckon that is bad;   (The snow is like a shroud) —       Maybe I'm going mad.   Say! wouldn't that be tough?       This awful hush that hugs   And chokes one is enough       To make a man go "bugs".   There's not a thing to do;       I cannot sleep at night;   No wonder I'm so blue;       Oh, for a friendly fight!   The din and rush of strife;       A music-hall aglow;   A crowd, a city, life —       Dear God, I miss it so!   Here, you have moped enough!       Brace up and play the game!   But say, it's awful tough —       Day after day the same   (I've said that twice, I bet).       Well, there's not much to say.   I wish I had a pet,       Or something I could play.   Cheer up! don't get so glum       And sick of everything;   The worst is yet to come;       God help you till the Spring.   God shield you from the Fear;       Teach you to laugh, not moan.   Ha! ha! it sounds so queer —       Alone, alone, alone. Yellow One pearly day in early May     I walked upon the sand And saw, say half a mile away,     a man with gun in hand. A dog was cowering to his will     as slow he sought to creep Upon a dozen ducks so still     they seemed to be asleep. When like a streak the dog dashed out,     the ducks flashed up in flight. The fellow gave a savage shout     and cursed with all his might. Then as I stood somewhat amazed     and gazed with eyes agog, With bitter rage his gun he raised     and blazed and shot the dog. You know how dogs can yelp with pain;     its blood soaked in the sand, And yet it crawled to him again,     and tried to lick his hand. "Forgive me Lord for what I've done,"     it seemed as if it said, But once again he raised his gun —     this time he shot it dead. What could I do?  What could I say?     'Twas such a lonely place. Tongue-tied I watched him stride away,     I never saw his face. I should have bawled the bastard out,     a yellow dog he slew. But worse, he proved beyond a doubt     that - I was yellow too. My Madonna I haled me a woman from the street,    Shameless, but, oh, so fair! I bade her to sit in the model's seat    And I painted her sitting there. I hid all trace of her heart unclean;    I painted a babe at her breast; I painted her as she might have been    If the Worst had been the Best. She laughed at my picture and went away.    Then came, with a knowing nod, A connossieur, and I heard him say;    “’Tis Mary, the Mother of God.” So I painted a halo round her hair,    And I sold her and took my fee, And she hangs in the church of Saint Hillaire,    Where you and all may see. Young Mother Her baby was so full of glee,          And through the day It laughed and babbled on her knee          In happy play. It pulled her hair all out of curl          With noisy joy; So peppy she was glad her girl          Was not a boy. Then as she longed for it to sleep,          To her surprise It just relaxed within her keep          With closing eyes. And as it lay upon her breast          So still its breath, So exquisite its utter rest          It looked like death. It seemed like it had slipped away          To shadow land; With tiny face like tinted clay          And waxen hand. No ghost of sigh, no living look . . .          Then with an ache Of panic fear and love she shook          Her babe awake. Each New Year's Eve I used to brood On my misdoings of the past, And vowed: "This year I'll be so good - Well, haply better than the last." My record of reforms I read To Mum who listened sweetly to it: "Why plan all this, my son?" she said;        "Just do it." Of her wise words I've often thought - Aye, sometimes with a pang of pain, When resolutions come to naught, And high resolves are sadly vain; The human heart from failure bleeds; Hopes may be wrecked so that we rue them . . . Don't let us dream of lovely deeds -        Just do them. And so, my son, uphold your pride. Believe serenely in your soul. Just take things in a steady stride, Until behold! you've gained your goal. But if, perchance, you frame a plan Of conduct, let it be a free one: Don't try to make yourself a man -        Just be one. Longevity I watched one day a parrot grey - 'twas in a barber shop. "Cuckold!" he cried, until I sighed: "You feathered devil, stop!" Then balefully he looked at me, and slid along his perch, With sneering eye that seemed to pry me very soul to search. So fierce, so bold, so grim, so cold, so agate was his stare: And then that bird I thought I heard this sentiment declare: - "As it appears, a hundred years a parrot may survive, When you are gone I'll sit upon this perch and be alive. In this same spot I'll drop my crot, and crack my sunflower seeds, And cackle loud when in a shroud you rot beneath the weeds. I'll carry on when carrion you lie beneath the yew; With claw and beak my grub I'll seek when grubs are seeking you." "Foul fowl! said I, "don't prophesy, I'll jolly well contrive That when I rot in bone-yard lot you cease to be alive." So I bespoke that barber bloke: "Joe, here's a five pound note. It's crisp and new, and yours if you will slice that parrot's throat." "In part," says he, "I must agree, for poor I be in pelf, With right good will I'll take your bill, but - cut his throat yourself." So it occurred I took that bird to my ancestral hall, And there he sat and sniggered at the portraits on the wall. I sought to cut his wind-pipe but he gave me such a peck, So cross was I, I swore I'd try to wring his blasted neck; When shrill he cried: "It's parrotcide what you propose to do; For every time you make a rhyme you're just a parrot too." Said I: "It's true. I bow to you. Poor parrots are we all." And now I sense with reverence the wisdom of his poll. For every time I want a rhyme he seems to find the word; In any doubt he helps me out - a most amazing bird. This line that lies before your eyes he helped me to indite; I sling the ink but often think it's he who ought to write. It's he who should in mystic mood concoct poetic screeds, And I who ought to drop my crot and crackle sunflower seeds. A parrot nears a hundred years (or so the legend goes), So were I he this century I might see to its close. Then I might swing within my ring while revolutions roar, And watch a world to ruin hurled - and find it all a bore. As upside-down I cling and clown, I might with parrot eyes Blink blandly when excited men are moulding Paradise. New Christs might die, while grimly I would croak and carry on, Till gnarled and old I should behold the year TWO THOUSAND dawn. But what a fate! How I should hate upon my perch to sit, And nothing do to make anew a world for angels fit. No, better far, though feeble are my lyric notes and flat, Be dead and done than anyone who lives a life like that. Though critic-scarred a humble bard I feel I'd rather be, Than flap and flit and shriek and spit through all a century. So feathered friend, until the end you may divide my den, And make a mess, which (more or less) I clean up now and then. But I prefer the doom to share of dead and gone compeers, Than parrot be, and live to see ten times a hundred years.