Rhymes of a Rolling Stone/Heart O' the North

by Robert W. Service

Heart o’ the North

And when I come to the dim trail-end,
      I who have been Life’s rover,
This is all I would ask, my friend,
      Over and over and over:

A little space on a stony hill
      With never another near me,
Sky o’ the North that’s vast and still,
      With a single star to cheer me;

Star that gleams on a moss-grey stone
      Graven by those who love me —
There would I lie alone, alone,
      With a single pine above me;

Pine that the north wind whinneys through —
      Oh, I have been Life’s lover!
But there I’d lie and listen to
      Eternity passing over.