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,
     But better be living than dead;
A joy and a pain, a loss and a gain;
     There's honey and may be some gall:
Yet still I declare, foul weather or fair,
     It's a mighty good world after all.

For look, lass! at night when I break from the fight,
     My Kingdom's awaiting for me;
There's comfort and rest, and the warmth of your breast,
     And little ones climbing my knee.
There's fire-light and song -- Oh, the world may be wrong!
     Its empires may topple and fall:
My home is my care -- if gladness be there,
     It's a mighty good world after all.

O heart of pure gold! I have made you a fold,
     It's sheltered, sun-fondled and warm.
O little ones, rest! I have fashioned a nest;
     Sleep on! you are safe from the storm.
For there's no foe like fear, and there's no friend like cheer,
     And sunshine will flash at our call;
So crown Love as King, and let us all sing --
     "It's a mighty good world after all."

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:04 min read
142

Quick analysis:

Scheme xabaxcdC xefexcdC xgfgbcxC
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,053
Words 204
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8

Robert William Service

Robert William Service was a poet and writer sometimes referred to as the Bard of the Yukon He is best-known for his writings on the Canadian North including the poems The Shooting of Dan McGrew The Law of the Yukon and The Cremation of Sam McGee His writing was so expressive that his readers took him for a hard-bitten old Klondike prospector not the later-arriving bank clerk he actually was Robert William Service was born 16 January 1874 in Preston England but also lived in Scotland before emigrating to Canada in 1894 Service went to the Yukon Territory in 1904 as a bank clerk and became famous for his poems about this region which are mostly in his first two books of poetry He wrote quite a bit of prose as well and worked as a reporter for some time but those writings are not nearly as well known as his poems He travelled around the world quite a bit and narrowly escaped from France at the beginning of the Second World War during which time he lived in Hollywood California He died 11 September 1958 in France Incidentally he played himself in a movie called The Spoilers starring John Wayne and Marlene Dietrich more…

All Robert William Service poems | Robert William Service Books

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