Poems

Poems List

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Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Undertaker's Horse

The Undertaker's Horse
The eldest son bestrides him,
And the pretty daughter rides him,
And I meet him oft o' mornings on the Course;
And there k…

458
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Vampire

The Vampire
A fool there was and he made his prayer
(Even as you and I!)
To a rag and a bone and a hank of hair
(We called her the woman who did …

473
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Tour

The Tour
Thirteen as twelve my Murray always took--
He was a publisher. The new Police
Have neater ways of bringing men to book,
So Juan found hi…

415
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Two-Sided Man

The Two-Sided Man
Much I owe to the Lands that grew--
More to the Lives that fed--
But most to Allah Who gave me two
Separate sides to my head. <…

506
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Thousandth Man

The Thousandth Man
One man in a thousand, Solomon says,
Will stick more close than a brother.
And it's worth while seeking him half your days
If …

871
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Threshold

The Threshold
In their deepest caverns of limestone
They pictured the Gods of Food--
The Horse, the Elk, and the Bison
That the hunting might be …

471
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Survival

The Survival
Securely, after days
Unnumbered, I behold
Kings mourn that promised praise
Their cheating bars foretold.
Of earth-constructi…

569
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Story of Uriah

The Story of Uriah
Jack Barrett went to Quetta
Because they told him to.
He left his wife at Simla
On three-fourths his monthly screw.
Ja…

491
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Spring Running

The Spring Running
Man goes to Man! Cry the challenge through the Jungle!
He that was our Brother goes away.
Hear, now, and judge, O ye People of the Jun…

466
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Sons of Martha

The Sons of Martha
The Sons of Mary seldom bother, for they have inherited that good part;
But the Sons of Martha favour their Mother of the careful soul and the…

730
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Song of the Women

The Song of the Women
How shall she know the worship we would do her?
The walls are high, and she is very far.
How shall the woman's message reach unto h…

437
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Song of the Old Guard

The Song of the Old Guard
Know this, my brethren, Heaven is clear
And all the clouds are gone--
The Proper Sort shall flourish now,
Good times ar…

424
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Song of the English

The Song of the English
Fair is our lot -- O goodly is our heritage!
(Humble ye, my people, and be fearful in your mirth!)
For the Lord our God Most High…

452
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Song OF The Cities

The Song OF The Cities
BOMBAY
Royal and Dower-royal, I the Queen
Fronting thy richest sea with richer hands --
A thousand mills roar through me w…

623
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Song of Diego Valdez

The Song of Diego Valdez
The God of Fair Beginnings
Hath prospered here my hand --
The cargoes of my lading,
And the keels of my command.

616
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo

The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo
This is the mouth-filling song of the race that was run by a Boomer.
Run in a single burst--only event of its kind--
St…

652
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Servant When He Reigneth

The Servant When He Reigneth
For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear. For a
servant when he reigneth, and a fool when he is …

429
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Ship That Found Herself

The Ship That Found Herself
We now, held in captivity,
Spring to our bondage nor grieve--
See now, how it is blesseder,
Brothers, to give than re…

367
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Second Voyage

The Second Voyage

We've sent our little Cupids all ashore --
They were frightened, they were tired, they were cold:
Our sails of silk and purp…

461
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Secret of the Machines

The Secret of the Machines
Modern Machinery
We were taken from the ore-bed and the mine,
We were melted in the furnace and the pit--
We were cast…

796
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Sea and the Hills

The Sea and the Hills
Who hath desired the Sea? -- the sight of salt water unbounded --
The heave and the halt and the hurl and the crash of the comber wind-houn…

579
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Rupaiyat of Omar Kal'vin

The Rupaiyat of Omar Kal'vin
Allowing for the difference 'twixt prose and rhymed exaggeration, this ought to
reproduce the sense of what Sir A-- told the nation…

455
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Run of the Downs

The Run of the Downs
The Weald is good, the Downs are best---
I'll give you the run of 'em, East to West.
Beachy Head and Winddoor Hill,
They w…

385
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling

The Rout of the White Hussars

The Rout of the White Hussars
It was not in the open fight
We threw away the sword,
But in the lonely watching
In the darkness by the ford.

439