Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936). Verse: 1885–1918. 1922.
The Verdicts
(Jutland)
1916
1916
N
Not in the press of the odds,
Do the heroes come to their height,
Or we know the demi-gods.
We can only perceive
Men returned from the seas,
Very grateful for leave.
Snatched from their business of war;
But we are too close to appraise
What manner of men they are.
With age-kept victories,
Or whether they battle and drown
Unreckoned, is hid from our eyes.
But our children shall understand
When and how our fate
Was changed, and by whose hand.
We are content to be blind …
But we know that we walk on a new-born earth
With the saviours of mankind.