English Poetry. Robert William Service. Old Codger. Роберт Уильям Сервис.

Robert William Service (Роберт Уильям Сервис)

Old Codger

Of garden truck he made his fare,
As his bright eyes bore witness;
Health was his habit and his care,
His hobby human fitness.
He sang the praise of open sky,
The gladth of Nature's giving;
And when at last he came to die
It was of too long living.

He held aloof from hate and strife,
Drank peace in dreamful doses;
He never voted in his life,
Loved children, dogs and roses.
Let tyrants romp in gory glee,
And revolutions roister,
He passed his days as peacefully
As friar in a cloister.

So fellow sinners, should you choose
Of doom to be a dodger,
At eighty be a bland recluse
Like this serene old codger,
Who turned his back on fear and fret,
And died nigh eighty-seven...
His name was--Robert Service: let
Us hope he went to Heaven.

Robert William Service’s other poems:

1. Spanish Women
2. The Prospector
3. Playboy
4. Pullman Porter
5. Abandoned Dog

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