The Return (All Arms)
Peace is declared, an’ I returnTo ’Ackneystadt, but not the same;Things ’ave transpired which made me learnThe size and meanin’ of the game.I did no more than others did,I don’t know where the change began;I started as a average kid,I finished as a thinkin’ man.
If England was what England seems,An’ not the England of our dreams,But only putty, brass, an’ paint,’Ow quick we’d drop ’er! But she ain’t!
Before my gappin’ mouth could speakI ’eard it in my comrade’s tone;I saw it on my neighbour’s cheekBefore I felt it flush my own.An’ last it come to me--not pride,Nor yet conceit, but on the ’ole(If such a term may be applied),The makin’s of a bloomin’ soul.
Rivers at night that cluck an’ jeer,Plains which the moonshine turns to sea,Mountains that never let you near,An’ stars to all eternity;An’ the quick-breathin’ dark that fillsThe ’ollows of the wilderness,When the wind worries through the ’ills--These may ’ave taught me more or less.
Towns without people, ten times took,An’ ten times left an’ burned at last;An’ starvin’ dogs that come to lookFor owners when a column passed;An’ quiet, ’omesick talks betweenMen, met by night, you never knewUntil--’is face--by shellfire seen--Once--an’ struck off. They taught me too.
The day’s lay-out--the mornin’ sunBeneath your ’at-brim as you sight;The dinner-’ush from noon till one,An’ the full roar that lasts till night;An’ the pore dead that look so oldAn’ was so young an hour ago,An’ legs tied down before they’re cold--These are the things which make you know.
Also Time runnin’ into years--A thousand Places left be’ind--An’ Men from both two ’emispheresDiscussin’ things of every kind;So much more near than I ’ad known,So much more great than I ’ad guessed--An’ me, like all the rest, alone--But reachin’ out to all the rest!
So ’ath it come to me--not pride,Nor yet conceit, but on the ’ole(If such a term may be applied),The makin’s of a bloomin’ soul.But now, discharged, I fall awayTo do with little things again....Gawd, ’oo knows all I cannot say,Look after me in Thamesfontein!
If England was what England seems,An’ not the England of our dreams,But only putty, brass, an’ paint,’Ow quick we’d chuck ’er! But she ain’t!
Words in this poem
- cluck v. i.
- To make the noise, or utter the call, of a brooding hen. Ray. [AS. cloccian; cf. D. klokken, G. glucken, glucksen, LG. klukken, Dan. klukke; all prob. of imitative origin.]
- moonshine n.
- The light of the moon.
- chuck v. i.
- To make a noise resembling that of a hen when she calls her chickens; to cluck. [Imitative of the sound.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Return (All Arms) is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Five Nations, Volume II, Project Gutenberg ebook #60261; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Rudyard Kipling, The Return (All Arms), in The Five Nations, Volume II (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #60261, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-five-nations-2/the-return-all-arms.html, id L20274.
Form and metre
The Return (All Arms) is 64 lines in 9 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 5 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABCDCD returnA · sameB · learnA · gameB · didC · beganD · kidC · manD
- 2 AABB seemsA · dreamsA · paintB · ain'tB
- 3 ABABCDCD speakA · toneB · cheekA · ownB · prideC · oleD · appliedC · soulD
- 4 A-A-BCBC jeerA · sea · nearA · eternity · fillsB · wildernessC · illsB · lessC
- 5 ABABCDCD tookA · lastB · lookA · passedB · betweenC · knewD · seenC · tooD
- 6 ABABCDCD sunA · sightB · oneA · nightB · oldC · agoD · coldC · knowD
- 7 ABABCDCD yearsA · be'indB · emispheresA · kindB · knownC · guessedD · aloneC · restD
- 8 ABABC-C- prideA · oleB · appliedA · soulB · awayC · again · sayC · thamesfontein
- 9 AABB seemsA · dreamsA · paintB · ain'tB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Peace is declared, an’ I return | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| To ’Ackneystadt, but not the same; | 8 | ········ |
| Things ’ave transpired which made me learn | 9 | ·/˘˘/···· |
| The size and meanin’ of the game. | 8 | ········ |
| I did no more than others did, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I don’t know where the change began; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| I started as a average kid, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| I finished as a thinkin’ man. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| If England was what England seems, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| An’ not the England of our dreams, | 8 | ···/˘·/· |
| But only putty, brass, an’ paint, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| ’Ow quick we’d drop ’er! But she ain’t! | 8 | ········ |
| Before my gappin’ mouth could speak | 8 | ········ |
| I ’eard it in my comrade’s tone; | 8 | ·····/·· |
| I saw it on my neighbour’s cheek | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Before I felt it flush my own. | 8 | ········ |
| An’ last it come to me--not pride, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor yet conceit, but on the ’ole | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| (If such a term may be applied), | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The makin’s of a bloomin’ soul. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Rivers at night that cluck an’ jeer, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Plains which the moonshine turns to sea, | 8 | ···/···· |
| Mountains that never let you near, | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| An’ stars to all eternity; | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| An’ the quick-breathin’ dark that fills | 8 | ········ |
| The ’ollows of the wilderness, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| When the wind worries through the ’ills-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| These may ’ave taught me more or less. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Towns without people, ten times took, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An’ ten times left an’ burned at last; | 8 | ········ |
| An’ starvin’ dogs that come to look | 8 | ········ |
| For owners when a column passed; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| An’ quiet, ’omesick talks between | 8 | ·/······ |
| Men, met by night, you never knew | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Until--’is face--by shellfire seen-- | 8 | ········ |
| Once--an’ struck off. They taught me too. | 8 | ········ |
| The day’s lay-out--the mornin’ sun | 8 | ········ |
| Beneath your ’at-brim as you sight; | 8 | ········ |
| The dinner-’ush from noon till one, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An’ the full roar that lasts till night; | 8 | ········ |
| An’ the pore dead that look so old | 8 | ········ |
| An’ was so young an hour ago, | 8 | ·····/˘/ |
| An’ legs tied down before they’re cold-- | 8 | ········ |
| These are the things which make you know. | 8 | ········ |
| Also Time runnin’ into years-- | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| A thousand Places left be’ind-- | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| An’ Men from both two ’emispheres | 8 | ········ |
| Discussin’ things of every kind; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| So much more near than I ’ad known, | 8 | ········ |
| So much more great than I ’ad guessed-- | 8 | ········ |
| An’ me, like all the rest, alone-- | 8 | ······˘/ |
| But reachin’ out to all the rest! | 8 | ········ |
| So ’ath it come to me--not pride, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor yet conceit, but on the ’ole | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| (If such a term may be applied), | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The makin’s of a bloomin’ soul. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But now, discharged, I fall away | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| To do with little things again.... | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Gawd, ’oo knows all I cannot say, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Look after me in Thamesfontein! | 9 | ········· |
| If England was what England seems, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| An’ not the England of our dreams, | 8 | ···/˘·/· |
| But only putty, brass, an’ paint, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| ’Ow quick we’d chuck ’er! But she ain’t! | 8 | ········ |
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