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.