Robert William Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958) was a poet and writer. He is most well known for his writings on the Canadian North, including the poems "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee". Service was born into a Scottish family while they were living in Preston, England. He was schooled in Scotland, attending Hillhead High School in Glasgow. He moved to Canada at the age of 21 when he gave up his job working in a Glasgow bank and traveled to Vancouver Island, British Columbia with his Buffalo Bill outfit and dreams of becoming a cowboy. Hired by the Canadian Bank of Commerce, he was posted to the bank's branch in Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory. Inspired by the vast beauty of the Yukon wilderness, Service started writing his poetry about the things he saw.
the cremation of sam mcgee
There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;[read poem]
There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
full fadom fiue thy father lies
Full fadom five thy Father lies,
Of his bones are Corrall made:
Those are pearles that...[read poem]
Full fadom five thy Father lies,
Of his bones are Corrall made:
Those are pearles that...
hearke, hearke, the larke at heauens gate sings
Hearke, hearke, the Larke at Heauens gate sings,
and Phbus gins arise,
His Steed...[read poem]
Hearke, hearke, the Larke at Heauens gate sings,
and Phbus gins arise,
His Steed...
o mistres mine where are you roming?
O Mistres mine where are you roming?
O stay and heare, your true loues coming,
That ca...[read poem]
O Mistres mine where are you roming?
O stay and heare, your true loues coming,
That ca...
orpheus with his lute made trees
Orpheus with his Lute made Trees,
And the Mountaine tops that freeze,
Bow themselues when ...[read poem]
Orpheus with his Lute made Trees,
And the Mountaine tops that freeze,
Bow themselues when ...
the phoenix and the turtle
Let the bird of loudest lay
On the sole Arabian tree
Herald sad and trumpet be,
To wh...[read poem]
Let the bird of loudest lay
On the sole Arabian tree
Herald sad and trumpet be,
To wh...
sonnet xv: when i consider everything that grows
When I consider everything that grows
Holds in perfection but a little moment,
That this h...[read poem]
When I consider everything that grows
Holds in perfection but a little moment,
That this h...
sonnet xviii: shall i compare thee to a summer's day?
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough win...[read poem]
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough win...
sonnet xix: devouring time, blunt thou the lion's paws
Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws,
And make the earth devour her own sweet brood;...[read poem]
Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws,
And make the earth devour her own sweet brood;...
sonnet xxv: let those who are in favour with their stars
Let those who are in favour with their stars
Of public honour and proud titles boast,
Whil...[read poem]
Let those who are in favour with their stars
Of public honour and proud titles boast,
Whil...
sonnet xxix: when in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state
And tro...[read poem]
When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state
And tro...
sonnet xxx: when to the sessions of sweet silent thought
When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sig...[read poem]
When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sig...
sonnet xxxii: if thou survive my well-contented day
If thou survive my well-contented day,
When that churl Death my bones with dust shall cover,...[read poem]
If thou survive my well-contented day,
When that churl Death my bones with dust shall cover,...
sonnet xxxiii: full many a glorious morning have i seen
Full many a glorious morning have I seen
Flatter the mountain-tops with sovereign eye,
Kis...[read poem]
Full many a glorious morning have I seen
Flatter the mountain-tops with sovereign eye,
Kis...
sonnet liii: what is your substance, whereof are you made
What is your substance, whereof are you made,
That millions of strange shadows on you tend?...[read poem]
What is your substance, whereof are you made,
That millions of strange shadows on you tend?...
sonnet lx: like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore
Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
E...[read poem]
Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
E...
sonnet lxiv: when i have seen by time's fell hand defaced
When I have seen by Time's fell hand defac'd
The rich proud cost of outworn buried age;
Wh...[read poem]
When I have seen by Time's fell hand defac'd
The rich proud cost of outworn buried age;
Wh...
sonnet lxvi: tir'd with all these, for restful death
Tir'd with all these, for restful death I cry,
As, to behold desert a beggar born,
And nee...[read poem]
Tir'd with all these, for restful death I cry,
As, to behold desert a beggar born,
And nee...
sonnet lxxi: no longer mourn for me when i am dead
No longer mourn for me when I am dead
Than you shall hear the surly sudden bell
Give warni...[read poem]
No longer mourn for me when I am dead
Than you shall hear the surly sudden bell
Give warni...
sonnet lxxiii: that time of year thou mayst in me behold
That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upo...[read poem]
That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upo...
sonnet xciv: they that have power to hurt and will do none
They that have power to hurt and will do none,
That do not do the thing they most do show,...[read poem]
They that have power to hurt and will do none,
That do not do the thing they most do show,...
sonnet xcvii: how like a winter hath my absence been
How like a winter hath my absence been
From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!
What ...[read poem]
How like a winter hath my absence been
From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!
What ...
sonnet cvi: when in the chronicle of wasted time
When in the chronicle of wasted time
I see descriptions of the fairest wights,
And beauty ...[read poem]
When in the chronicle of wasted time
I see descriptions of the fairest wights,
And beauty ...
sonnet cvii: not mine own fears, nor the prophetic soul
Not mine own fears, nor the prophetic soul
Of the wide world dreaming on things to come,
C...[read poem]
Not mine own fears, nor the prophetic soul
Of the wide world dreaming on things to come,
C...
sonnet cx: alas, 'tis true i have gone here and there
Alas, 'tis true I have gone here and there
And made myself a motley to the view,
Gor'd min...[read poem]
Alas, 'tis true I have gone here and there
And made myself a motley to the view,
Gor'd min...
sonnet cxi: o, for my sake do you with fortune chide
O, for my sake do you with Fortune chide,
The guilty goddess of my harmful deeds,
That did...[read poem]
O, for my sake do you with Fortune chide,
The guilty goddess of my harmful deeds,
That did...
sonnet cxvi: let me not to the marriage of true minds
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters ...[read poem]
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters ...
sonnet cxxix: th'expense of spirit in a waste of shame
Th' expense of spirit in a waste of shame
Is lust in action; and till action, lust
Is perj...[read poem]
Th' expense of spirit in a waste of shame
Is lust in action; and till action, lust
Is perj...
sonnet cxxx: my mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red:
If s...[read poem]
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red:
If s...
sonnet cxlvi: poor soul, the centre of my sinful earth
Poor soul, the centre of my sinful earth,
[......] these rebel powers that thee array,
Why...[read poem]
Poor soul, the centre of my sinful earth,
[......] these rebel powers that thee array,
Why...
take, o take those lips away
Take, oh take those lips away,
that so sweetly were forsworne,
And those eyes: the bre...[read poem]
Take, oh take those lips away,
that so sweetly were forsworne,
And those eyes: the bre...
under the greenwood tree
Vnder the greene wood tree,
who loues to lye with mee,
And turne his merrie Note,...[read poem]
Vnder the greene wood tree,
who loues to lye with mee,
And turne his merrie Note,...
venus and adonis
Even as the sunne with purple-colourd face,
Had tane his last leaue of the weeping morne,
...[read poem]
Even as the sunne with purple-colourd face,
Had tane his last leaue of the weeping morne,
...
when daisies pied and violets blue
When daisies pied and violets blue
And lady-smocks all silver-white
And cuckoo-buds of...[read poem]
When daisies pied and violets blue
And lady-smocks all silver-white
And cuckoo-buds of...
the shooting of dan mcgrew
A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute saloon;
The kid that handles the music-...[read poem]
A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute saloon;
The kid that handles the music-...
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