Rudyard Kipling's Verse, Inclusive Edition, 1885-1918/The Veterans

by Rudyard Kipling

The Veterans

(Written for the gathering of survivors of the Indian Mutiny, Albert Hall, 1907.)

To-day, across our fathers' graves,
The astonished years reveal
The remnant of that desperate host
Which cleansed our East with steel.

Hail and farewell! We greet you here,
With tears that none will scorn—
O Keepers of the House of old,
Or ever we were born!

One service more we dare to ask—
Pray for us, heroes, pray,
That when Fate lays on us our task
We do not shame the Day!