The Telegraph Operator
Robert William Service
1 I will not wash my face;
2 I will not brush my hair;
3 I "pig" around the place --
4 There's nobody to care.
5 Nothing but rock and tree;
6 Nothing but wood and stone;
7 Oh God, it's hell to be
8 Alone, alone, alone.
9 Snow-peaks and deep-gashed draws
10 Corral me in a ring.
11 I feel as if I was
12 The only living thing
13 On all this blighted earth;
14 And so I frowst and shrink,
15 And crouching by my hearth,
16 I hear the thoughts I think.
17 I think of all I miss --
18 The boys I used to know;
19 The girls I used to kiss;
20 The coin I used to blow:
21 The bars I used to haunt;
22 The racket and the row;
23 The beers I didn't want
24 (I wish I had 'em now).
25 Day after day the same,
26 Only a little worse;
27 No one to grouch or blame --
28 Oh, for a loving curse!
29 Oh, in the night I fear,
30 Haunted by nameless things,
31 Just for a voice to cheer,
32 Just for a hand that clings!
33 Faintly as from a star
34 Voices come o'er the line;
35 Voices of ghosts afar,
36 &160;&160;Not in this world of mine.
37 Lives in whose loom I grope;
38 Words in whose weft I hear
39 Eager the thrill of hope,
40 Awful the chill of fear.
41 I'm thinking out aloud;
42 I reckon that is bad;
43 (The snow is like a shroud) --
44 Maybe I'm going mad.
45 Say! wouldn't that be tough?
46 This awful hush that hugs
47 And chokes one is enough
48 To make a man go "bugs".
49 There's not a thing to do;
50 I cannot sleep at night;
51 No wonder I'm so blue;
52 Oh, for a friendly fight!
53 The din and rush of strife;
54 A music-hall aglow;
55 A crowd, a city, life --
56 Dear God, I miss it so!
57 Here, you have moped enough!
58 Brace up and play the game!
59 But say, it's awful tough --
60 Day after day the same
61 (I've said that twice, I bet).
62 Well, there's not much to say.
63 I wish I had a pet,
64 Or something I could play.
65 Cheer up! don't get so glum
66 And sick of everything;
67 The worst is yet to come;
68 God help you till the Spring.
69 God shield you from the Fear;
70 Teach you to laugh, not moan.
71 Ha! ha! it sounds so queer --
72 Alone, alone, alone.
