Large Fierce Mammal

Robert W. Service, Jan. 16, 1874 – Sept. 11, 1958

I’ve always been a fan of Robert W. Service, he known best by the world for such great works of frontier poetry as The Shooting of Dan McGrew and The Cremation of Sam McGee.

Service said, “The only society I like is that which is rough and tough – and the tougher the better. That’s where you get down to bedrock and meet human people.” Much of his work is built from the grit that comes from this, but today I happened on one delightful piece that, while still gritty, is of a subtlety I find most appealing. The story is that this poem caused such a stir that it nearly got him thrown out of his church, and if that’s true, for my own part I think it would have been worth the toss. Gentle readers, I give you …

My Madonna

by Robert W. Service

I haled me a woman from the street,
Shameless, but oh, so fair!
I bade her sit in the model’s seat
And painted her sitting there.

I hid all traces of her heart unclean;
I painted a babe at her breast;
I painted her as she might have been
If the worst had been the best.

She laughed at my picture and went away,
Then came, with a knowing nod,
A connoisseur, and I heard him say;
“’Tis Mary, the Mother of God.”

So I painted a halo round her hair,
And I sold her and took my fee,
And she hangs in the church of Saint Hillaire,
Where you and all may see.