Robert Service was noted among roughnecks for his Songs of a Sourdough,with Eskimo Nell and the Ballad of Dan Mcgrew being among their number,but here he is with a poem of a more whimsical nature ,composed when he was sailing to London....
Stowaway
We'd left the sea-gulls long behind
And we were almost in mid-ocean,
The sky was soft and blue and kind,
The boat had scarcely any motion;
Except that songfully it sped,
And sheared the foam swift as an arroww....
There fluttered down a city sparrow.
I stared with something of surprise;
That apparition mocked my seeming;
In fact I gently rubbed my eyes
And wondered if I were not dreaming.
It must, I mused , at Montreal
Have hopped aboard,somewhere to nestle,
And failed to heed the warning call
For visitors to leave the vessel.
Well,anyway a bird it was
With winky eyes and wings a-twitter,
Unwise to migration Laws,
From Canada a hardy flitter;
And as it hopped about the deck,
So happily I wondered wether
It was'nt scramming from Quebec
For Londons mild and moister weather.
My rovers' heart went out to it,
That vain ,vivacious little devil;
And as I watched it hop and flit
I hoped it would not come to evil ,
It planed above the plangent sea
( A foolish flight ,I'd never risk it )
And then it circled back to me
And from my palm picked crumbs of biscuit.
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Well,voyages come to an end
(We make them with that understanding)
One morn I missed my feathered friend,
And hope it made a happy landing.
Oh may she ever happy be
(It t'was a she) with eggs to it on,
And rest on our side of the sea,
A brave ,brown ,cheery, chirping Briton.
- Robert Service
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