http://robertservice.com/the-ballad-of-one-eyed-mike/ A blog devoted to the verse of Robert W. Service Sun, 02 Jan 2011 10:46:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 http://robertservice.com/the-ballad-of-one-eyed-mike/comment-page-1/#comment-23532 Keith "Yukon Slim" Hull Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:52:46 +0000 http://robertservice.com/?p=73#comment-23532 Spencer, Thank you for a very nice Robert W. Service site. I can never get enough of his poetry, thank goodness he wrote so much of it! I've been a fan of his ever since I read "The Cremation of Sam McGee" when I was in Jr. High School some 50 years ago. Through the years I have memorized dozens of his poems and I continue to learn more. This poem,"The Ballad of One Eyed Mike", with it's tremendous word pictures and soulful theme I consider to be one of R.W.S.'s best. His tremendous talent and skill at setting a scene and evoking a mood are displayed here at their apex. It is impossible to read it or hear it recited (Hank Snow does a wonderful recitation of it) without being moved. One wonders what the inspiration was. From the first stanza, setting the scene, "and the bottle of “hooch” was dry" telling us it has been a long night around the campfire, watching the river and the northern lights (the Glories swept the sky) of drinking & story telling, to his description of the corpse, "It bobbed and swung; it sheered and hung; it romped round in a ring; It seemed to play in a tricksome way; it sure was a merry thing". where one gets the impression of a limp, rag doll like corpse, almost dancing through the water, its arms , legs, and head all askew and lolling along at all angles. Every word is carefully chosen to create a mood of apprehension, wonderment and otherworldlyness. In the end it is a poem about forgiveness, asked for and given Read alongside something like "Bessie's Boil" it shows the depth of Service's talent and the breadth and scope of his works. Thanks for posting it, and thanks again for the tribute site to "The Bard of the North", may his poetry never be forgotten. Sincerely, Keith Hull Spencer,
Thank you for a very nice Robert W. Service site. I can never get enough of his poetry, thank goodness he wrote so much of it!
I’ve been a fan of his ever since I read “The Cremation of Sam McGee” when I was in Jr. High School some 50 years ago. Through the years I have memorized dozens of his poems and I continue to learn more.
This poem,”The Ballad of One Eyed Mike”, with it’s tremendous word pictures and soulful theme I consider to be one of R.W.S.’s best.
His tremendous talent and skill at setting a scene and evoking a mood are displayed here at their apex.
It is impossible to read it or hear it recited (Hank Snow does a wonderful recitation of it) without being moved. One wonders what the inspiration was.
From the first stanza, setting the scene, “and the bottle of “hooch” was dry” telling us it has been a long night around the campfire, watching the river and the northern lights (the Glories swept the sky) of drinking & story telling, to his description of the corpse, “It bobbed and swung; it sheered and hung; it romped round in a ring;
It seemed to play in a tricksome way; it sure was a merry thing”. where one gets the impression of a limp, rag doll like corpse, almost dancing through the water, its arms , legs, and head all askew and lolling along at all angles.
Every word is carefully chosen to create a mood of apprehension, wonderment and otherworldlyness.
In the end it is a poem about forgiveness, asked for and given
Read alongside something like “Bessie’s Boil” it shows the depth of Service’s talent and the breadth and scope of his works.
Thanks for posting it, and thanks again for the tribute site to “The Bard of the North”, may his poetry never be forgotten.
Sincerely,
Keith Hull

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