Robert Service Poems
- 101. Causation
Said darling daughter unto me:
“oh Dad, how funny it would beIf you had gone to Mexico
- 102. Celebates
They must not wed the Doctor said,
For they were far from strong,And children of their marriage bed
- 103. Charity
The Princess was of ancient line,
Of royal race was she;Like cameo her face was fine,
- 104. Cheer
It's a mighty good world, so it is, dear lass,
When even the worst is said.There's a smile and a tear, a sigh and a cheer,
- 105. Child Lover
Drunk or sober Uncle Jim
Played the boy;Never glum or sour or grim,
- 106. Cinderella
Cinderella in the street
In a ragged gown,Sloven slippers on her feet,
- 107. Clancy Of The Mounted Police
In the little Crimson Manual it's written plain and clear
That who would wear the scarlet coat shall say good-bye to fear;Shall be a guardian of the right, a sleuth-hound of the trail-
- 108. Class-Mates
Bob Briggs went in for Government,
And helps to run the State;Some day they say he'll represent
- 109. Clemenceau
His frown brought terror to his foes,
But now in twilight of his daysThe pure perfection of a rose
- 110. Cocotte
When a girl's sixteen, and as poor as she's pretty,
And she hasn't a friend and she hasn't a home,Heigh-ho! She's as safe in Paris city
- 111. Comfort
Say! You've struck a heap of trouble-
Bust in business, lost your wife;No one cares a cent about you,
- 112. Compassion
What puts me in a rage is
The sight of cursed cagesWhere singers of the sky
- 113. Compensation Pete
He used to say: There ain't a doubt
Misfortune is a bitter pill,But if you only pry it out
- 114. Comrades
Three Holies sat in sacred place
And quaffed celestial wine,As they discussed the human race
- 115. Confetti In The Wind
He wrote a letter in his mind
To answer one a maid had sent;He sought the fitting word to find,
- 116. Conqueror
Though I defy the howling horde
As bloody-browed I smite,Back to the wall with shattered sword
- 117. Contentment
An Ancient gaffer once I knew,
Who puffed a pipe and tossed a tankard;He claimed a hundred years or two,
- 118. Contrast
“Carry your suitcase, Sir?” he said.
I turned away to hide a grin,For he was shorter by a head
- 119. Convicts Love Canaries
Dick's dead! It was the Polack guard
Put powdered glass into his cageWhen I was tramping round the yard,-
- 120. Courage
Ten little brown chicks scattered and scuffled,
Under the blue-berries hiding in fear;Mother-grouse cackling, feathers all ruffled,
- 121. Cowardice
Although you deem it far from nice,
And it perchance may hurt you,Let me suggest that cowardice
- 122. Cows
I love to watch my seven cows
In meads of buttercups abrowse, With guilded knees;
- 123. Dance-Hall Girls
Where are the dames I used to know
In Dawson in the days of yore?Alas, it's fifty years ago,
- 124. Dark Glasses
Sweet maiden, why disguise
The beauty of your eyes With glasses black?
- 125. Dark Trinity
Said I to Pain: “You would not dare
Do ill to me.”Said Pain: “Poor fool! Why should I care
- 126. Dark Truth
Birds have no consciousness of doom:
Yon thrush that serenades me dailyFrom scented snow of hawthorn bloom
- 127. Days
I am a Day . . .
My sky is grey,My wind is wild,
- 128. Death And Life
'Twas in the grave-yard's gruesome gloom
That May and I were mated;We sneaked inside and on a tomb
- 129. Death In The Arctic
I
- 130. Death Of A Cockroach
I opened wide the bath-room door,
And all at once switched on the light,When moving swift across the floor
- 131. Death’s Way
Old Man Death's a lousy heel who will not play the game:
Let Graveyard yawn and doom down crash, he'll sneer and turn away.But when the sky with rapture rings and joy is like a flame,
- 132. Decadence
Before the florid portico
I watched the gamblers come and go,While by me on a bench there sat
- 133. Decorations
My only medals are the scars
I've won in weary, peacetime wars,A-fighting for my little brood,
- 134. Dedication
In youth I longed to paint
The loveliness I saw;And yet by dire constraint
- 135. Dedication To Providence
I loved to toy with tuneful rhyme,
My fancies into verse to weave;For as I walked my words would chime
- 136. Design
Said Seeker of the skies to me:
“Behold yon starry host ashine!When Heaven's harmony you see
- 137. Detachment
As I go forth from fair to mart
With racket ringing,Who would divine that in my heart
- 138. Distracted Druggist
‘A shilling's worth of quinine, please,'
The customer demanded.The druggist went down on his knees
- 139. Divine Detachment
One day the Great Designer sought
His Clerk of Birth and Death.Said he: “Two souls are in my thought,
- 140. Divine Device
Would it be loss or gain
To hapless human-kindIf we could feel no pain
- 141. Dolls
She said: “I am too old to play
With dolls,” and put them all away,Into a box, one rainy day.
- 142. Domestic Scene
The meal was o'er, the lamp was lit,
The family sat in its glow;The Mother never ceased to knit,
- 143. Don’t Cheer
Don't cheer, damn you! Don't cheer!
Silence! Your bitterest tearIs fulsomely sweet to-day. . . .
- 144. Dram-Shop Ditty
I drink my fill of foamy ale
I sing a song, I tell a tale,I play the fiddle;
- 145. Dreams
I had a dream, a dream of dread:
I thought that horror held the house;A burglar bent above my bed,
- 146. Dreams Are Best
I just think that dreams are best,
Just to sit and fancy things; Give your gold no acid test,
- 147. Drifter
God gave you guts: don't let Him down;
Brace up, be worthy of His giving.The road's a rut, the sky's a frown;
- 148. Duello
A Frenchman and an Englishman
Resolved to fight a duel,And hit upon a savage plan,
- 149. Dumb Swede
With barbwire hooch they filled him full,
Till he was drunker than all hell,And then they peddled him the bull
- 150. Dunce
At school I never gained a prize,
Proving myself the model ass;Yet how I watched the wistful eyes,
