This is a poem by Robert Service. He wrote this poem while living up in the Yukon Territory. He had been hired to work in the Royal Canadian Bank up in the gold fields. He wrote about all kinds of cool stuff up in the Yukon.
As a young man I went to the west coast every winter with my parents to visit an aunt in San Diego. I would look out over the Pacific ocean and wonder what was out there. I had my first opportunity to explore my "land of beyond" when I was called to serve in the Japan Okayama Mission in 1977. Later, in 1989, we moved to Guam to work in the recreational scuba diving business. We were there for 6 years and explored the Mariana Islands, the Micronesian Islands, Indonesia, the Philippines, and back for a couple of visits to Japan. In 1995, we moved to Alaska and for the next 12 years we explored the Pacific up in the North.
This poem's imagery is what I like. The poem reminds me of all of the false summits I have climbed, only to realize that the summit is still off in the distance and a adventure saved for another day. It reminds me of something that HW Tilman said in his book Everest 1938, about someday, finally reaching the summit: "is there anything in life so disenchanting as attainment."
I believe that whole-heartedly. It's the journey. You always have to be looking forward! (funny how many times those two words are written in the Book of Mormon. Have you ever noticed that?)
Right before we left Alaska to move to Nevada to be closer to family, I helped deliver a vessel from Sitka, across the gulf of Alaska , out the Aleutian chain and into the Bering Sea. It was fun, but to some extent the mystery of that part of the world to me, was extinguished.
Anyway, I like the poem. I wish that I had written it myself.
