The Blessed West

by Thomas Mower Martin, 1902

'Tis forty years since first to Canada
I came from blythe old England's happy shore
Passed through Quebec and ever westward bore
Till in Muskoka's woods I came to stay
Hence summer short and winter's long delay
Drove me to old Toronto to restore
My fortunes during thirty years or more
Then to the blessed west I made my way
Now I look back on wasted years of cold
In winter and in summer burning heat
Too late to start again now I am old
In the mild climate of this calm retreat
But not too late to rest for the short time
I have to spend within this blessed clime