Winter -by Three Roberts

Winter –by Three Roberts

Were you ever out in the Great Alone,

when the moon was awful clear,

And the icy mountains hemmed you in,

with a silence you most could hear;

Between the woods and frozen lake,

The darkest evening of the year.

My little horse must think it queer,

To stop without a farmhouse near;

While high overhead, green, yellow and red,

the North Lights swept in bars? —

Then you've a haunch what the music meant. . .

hunger and night and the stars.

When biting Boreas, fell and dour,

Sharp shivers thro' the leafless bower;

When Phoebus gives a short-lived glower,

What comes o' thee?

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

Then on a sudden the music changed,

so soft that you scarce could hear;

But you felt that your life had been looted clean

 of all that it once held dear;

Even you on murdering errands toiled,

Lone from your savage homes exiled,

The blood-stained roost, and sheep-cote spoiled

My heart forgets.

That someone had stolen the woman you loved;

that her love was a devil's lie;

That your guts were gone,

and the best for you was to crawl away and die.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Can anyone guess which three Roberts or which three poems this was compiled from?  Have any favorite winter poems to share?  

I'm still not 100% after the flu so doing a few things around the house (got turkey soup made, one turkey brined and one of the meat birds currently brining), but mostly still sitting around reading.  I'm also somewhat frustrated because I had some great ice photos from an icestorm we went through in KY but I can't find them anywhere...  So the post goes photoless, but I guess that is good so you can use your own imagination and winter imagery.