A Ballad Of Jakkko Hill

Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)



One moment bid the horses wait,
Since tiffin is not laid till three,
Below the upward path and strait
You climbed a year ago with me.
Love came upon us suddenly
And loosed an idle hour to kill
A headless, harmless armory
That smote us both on Jakko Hill.
  
Ah, Heaven! we would wait and wait
Through Time and to Eternity!
Ah, Heaven! we could conquer Fate
With more than Godlike constancy
I cut the date upon a tree
Here stand the clumsy figures still:
"10-7-85, A.D."
Damp in the mists on Jakko Hill.
  
What came of high resolve and great,
And until Death fidelity?
Whose horse is waiting at your gate?
Whose 'rickshaw-wheels ride over me?
No Saint's, I swear; and let me see
To-night what names your programme fill
We drift asunder merrily,
As drifts the mist on Jakko Hill.
  
L'Envoi
      
Princess, behold our ancient state
Has clean departed; and we see
'Twas Idleness we took for Fate
That bound light bonds on you and me.
Amen! Here ends the comedy
Where it began in all good will,
Since Love and Leave together flee
As driven mist on Jakko Hill!
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 27, 2023

59 sec read
53

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABBCBC ABABBCXC ABABBCBC ABABBCBC
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,025
Words 198
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8

Rudyard Kipling

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English short-story writer, poet, and novelist chiefly remembered for his tales and poems of British soldiers in India and his tales for children. more…

All Rudyard Kipling poems | Rudyard Kipling Books

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