Rhymes of a Rolling Stone

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.