Robert W. Service

It's fine to have a blow-out in a fancy restaurant, With terrapin and canvas-back and all the wine you want; To enjoy the flowers and music, watch the pretty women pass, Smoke a choice cigar, and sip the wealthy water in your glass. It's bully in a high-toned joint to eat and drink your fill, But it's quite another matter when you Pay the bill. It's great to go out every night on fun or pleasure bent; To wear your glad rags always and to never save a cent; To drift along regardless, have a good time every trip; To hit the high spots sometimes, and to let your chances slip; To know you're acting foolish, yet to go on fooling still, Till Nature calls a show-down, and you Pay the bill. Time has got a little bill -- get wise while yet you may, For the debit side's increasing in a most alarming way; The things you had no right to do, the things you should have done, They're all put down; it's up to you to pay for every one. So eat, drink and be merry, have a good time if you will, But God help you when the time comes, and you Foot the bill.

Type of Poem- Lyric Poetry (Song) Style of verse – Rhyming Verse

Type one stanza of the poem and scan it showing the rhythm pattern. It's fine to have a blow-out in a fancy restaurant, A With terrapin and canvas-back and all the wine you want; A To enjoy the flowers and music, watch the pretty women pass, B Smoke a choice cigar, and sip the wealthy water in your glass. B It's bully in a high-toned joint to eat and drink your fill, C But it's quite another matter when you Pay the bill. C anapest (~~/ )iamb ( ~/)spondee (//) dactyl ( /~~)trochee ( /~ )

The theme of the poem is the good life COSTS! It’s great to have fun, live in the moment, and treat yourself well however at the end of the night you probably won’t be too happy when it’s time to pay up.

As far as symbolism in the poem, I think that “paying the bill” isn’t always necessarily money but it can refer to any consequence for our over the top actions.

The poem paints a very realistic picture of someone who likes to live big and spend money without thinking. It doesn’t use many similes or metaphors because it says exactly what it means.

The definition of reckoning is: the act of counting or computing; an itemized bill or statement of a sum due. The title is directly connected with the poem because that is exactly the authors concern. How the mood and demeanor of the person will change once it is time to pay the bill and the spendthrift sees the damage they did.

The message the poet was trying to get across is be mindful of how much you spend when having a good time, and do no ignore the signs of overspending; in the end it will be you who has to pay. He also could be referring to consequences of anything that is done in a frivolous manner.

Service was born into a Scottish family while they were living in Preston, England. He was schooled in Scotland. He moved to Canada at the age of 21 when he gave up his job working in a Glasgow bank and soon began drifted around western North America, taking and quitting a series of jobs. He was hired by the Canadian Bank of Commerce and worked at a branch in Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory in 1904, six years after the Klondike Gold Rush. Inspired by the vast beauty of the Yukon wilderness, Service began writing poetry about the things he saw and became known for his work about the West and the Yukon gold miners.

By Celiah Bunsie

It doesn’t depend on our circumstances, whether we’re happy or sad, whether our day was good or bad, It’s given to us by the Father It can never be taken away or lost, for it is not of this world Human emotions, oh how they can change as the wind blows causing us to believe then doubt, love then shout, The world ends at least four times a day for some But the joy that fills my soul conquers all Oh to know true joy! In a world where there’s much we don’t understand, we know it’s all in His hand All things are part of a perfect plan.

Is it to say that our emotions are meaningless? Not so! For a special reason they were given you know There would be no love, no caring, no laughter Oh how miserable this world would be! No it can not be found in money, fame, or other people Not in any man made book, even those with the best hook Only the Lord can provide the joy that never dies Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Presented by: Celiah Bunsie Date: 9/28/09Class: Language and Literacy Bibliography: 1)Poet’s Corner 2) Wikipedia.com