by Rudyard Kipling
It was not part of their blood,
It came to them very late,
With long arrears to make good,
When the Saxon began to hate.
They were not easily moved,
They were icy -- willing to wait
Till every count should be proved,
Ere the Saxon began to hate.
Their voices were even and low.
Their eyes were level and straight.
There was neither sign nor show
When the Saxon began to hate.
It was not preached to the crowd.
It was not taught by the state.
No man spoke it aloud
When the Saxon began to hate.
It was not suddently bred.
It will not swiftly abate.
Through the chilled years ahead,
When Time shall count from the date
That the Saxon began to hate.
We saw the heavens break
And all the world go down to sleep
And rocks on mossy banks
Drip acid rain from craggy steeps.
Saw fiery angels kiss the dawn,
Wish you goodbye till further on,
Will you still be there further on?
And troubled dynasties,
Like legions lost, have blown away.
Hounds hard upon their heels,
Call to their quarry wait and play.
Before the last faint light has gone:
Wish you goodbye till further on,
Will you still be there further on?
The angry waves grow high
Cut icy teeth on northern shores.
Brave fires that flicker, cough
Give way to winds
Through broken doors.
And with the last line almost drawn:
Wish you goodbye till further on.
Will you still be there further on?