A POETS LAMENT
If you really want to know
	What makes a poet nervous
When he reads the poems
	Of Robert W. Service

It's, while there is still a Yukon,
	There's few dangers or adventures
Like ours of going to a dentist
	And returning with new dentures

Yes, there is still a southern state
	That we call Tennessee
But there's no barge or lake La marge
	Nor is there a Sam McGee

We can write rhymes 'till the end of time
	About our experiences here
But none will equal or be a sequel
	To Service. For I fear

That, although we sweat the internet,
	There will never be again
The loneliness that he did posses
	In the land of frozen rain

He could write his song of women gone wrong
	To impress the churchy crowd.
But what can we say, in this our day
	When everything is allowed.

He could feel the cold in the land of gold
	Until we knew where it was at.
But who can write of our winter night
	Safe with our thermostat.

So here's to those who almost froze
	To give us poems like his.
We'll just enjoy our most recent toy
	And thank God for a life like this!

GHVS 11/15/96