The Rhyme Of The Restless Ones



We couldn't sit and study for the law;
    The stagnation of a bank we couldn't stand;
For our riot blood was surging, and we didn't need much urging
    To excitements and excesses that are banned.
So we took to wine and drink and other things,
    And the devil in us struggled to be free;
Till our friends rose up in wrath, and they pointed out the path,
    And they paid our debts and packed us o'er the sea.

Oh, they shook us off and shipped us o'er the foam,
To the larger lands that lure a man to roam;
    And we took the chance they gave
    Of a far and foreign grave,
And we bade good-by for evermore to home.

And some of us are climbing on the peak,
    And some of us are camping on the plain;
By pine and palm you'll find us, with never claim to bind us,
    By track and trail you'll meet us once again.

We are the fated serfs to freedom -- sky and sea;
    We have failed where slummy cities overflow;
But the stranger ways of earth know our pride and know our worth,
    And we go into the dark as fighters go.

Yes, we go into the night as brave men go,
Though our faces they be often streaked with woe;
    Yet we're hard as cats to kill,
    And our hearts are reckless still,
And we've danced with death a dozen times or so.

And you'll find us in Alaska after gold,
    And you'll find us herding cattle in the South.
We like strong drink and fun, and, when the race is run,
    We often die with curses in our mouth.
We are wild as colts unbroke, but never mean.
    Of our sins we've shoulders broad to bear the blame;
But we'll never stay in town and we'll never settle down,
    And we'll never have an object or an aim.

No, there's that in us that time can never tame;
And life will always seem a careless game;
    And they'd better far forget --
    Those who say they love us yet --
Forget, blot out with bitterness our name.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 24, 2023

1:52 min read
153

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXAXBXB CCDDC XXXX BEXE EEFFE XGXGXHXH HHIIH
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,824
Words 359
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 8, 5, 4, 4, 5, 8, 5

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

7 fans

Discuss the poem The Rhyme Of The Restless Ones with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Rhyme Of The Restless Ones" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/32632/the-rhyme-of-the-restless-ones>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    12
    hours
    54
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    What are the first eight lines of a sonnet called?
    A octane
    B octave
    C octet
    D octopus