Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936). Verse: 1885–1918. 1922.
The Veterans
(Written for the gathering of survivors of the Indian Mutiny, Albert Hall, 1907.)
T
The astonished years reveal
The remnant of that desperate host
Which cleansed our East with steel.
With tears that none will scorn—
O Keepers of the House of old,
Or ever we were born!
Pray for us, heroes, pray,
That when Fate lays on us our task
We do not shame the Day!