Poem I
We were dreamers, dreaming greatly, in the man-stifled town;We yearned beyond the sky-line where the strange roads go down.Came the Whisper, came the Vision, came the Power with the Need,Till the Soul that is not man's soul was lent us to lead.As the deer breaks -- as the steer breaks -- from the herd where they graze,In the faith of little children we went on our ways.Then the wood failed -- then the food failed -- then the last water dried --In the faith of little children we lay down and died.On the sand-drift -- on the veldt-side -- in the fern-scrub we lay,That our sons might follow after by the bones on the way.Follow after -- follow after! We have watered the root,And the bud has come to blossom that ripens for fruit!Follow after -- we are waiting, by the trails that we lost,For the sounds of many footsteps, for the tread of a host.Follow after -- follow after -- for the harvest is sown:By the bones about the wayside ye shall come to your own!
When Drake went down to the HornAnd England was crowned thereby,'Twixt seas unsailed and shores unhailedOur Lodge -- our Lodge was born(And England was crowned thereby!)
Which never shall close againBy day nor yet by night,While man shall take his life to stakeAt risk of shoal or main(By day nor yet by night).
But standeth even soAs now we witness here,While men depart, of joyful heart,Adventure for to know(As now bear witness here!)
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- wayside n.
- The side of the way; the edge or border of a road or path.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- drake n.
- The male of the duck kind. [Akin to LG. drake, OHG. antrache, anetrecho, G. enterich, Icel. andriki, Dan. andrik, OSw. andrak, andrage, masc., and fr. AS. ened, fem., duck; akin to D. eend]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Poem I is in the public domain. This text is taken from Verses 1889-1896, Project Gutenberg ebook #323; 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, Poem I, in Verses 1889–1896 (1889–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #323, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-verses/poem-i.html, id L16788.
Form and metre
Poem I is 31 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%). 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.4 syllables. 26% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic heptameter.
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 AABBCCDDEEFF--GG townA · downA · needB · leadB · grazeC · waysC · driedD · diedD · layE · wayE · rootF · fruitF · lost · host · sownG · ownG
- 2 AB-AB hornA · therebyB · unhailed · bornA · therebyB
- 3 AB-AB againA · nightB · stake · mainA · nightB
- 4 AB-AB soA · hereB · heart · knowA · hereB
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 heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| We were dreamers, dreaming greatly, in the man-stifled town; | 14 | ··/˘/˘/˘···/˘· |
| We yearned beyond the sky-line where the strange roads go down. | 13 | ············· |
| Came the Whisper, came the Vision, came the Power with the Need, | 14 | ··/˘··/˘··/··· |
| Till the Soul that is not man's soul was lent us to lead. | 13 | ············· |
| As the deer breaks -- as the steer breaks -- from the herd where they graze, | 14 | ·············· |
| In the faith of little children we went on our ways. | 13 | ····/˘/˘···/· |
| Then the wood failed -- then the food failed -- then the last water dried -- | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| In the faith of little children we lay down and died. | 13 | ····/˘/˘····· |
| On the sand-drift -- on the veldt-side -- in the fern-scrub we lay, | 14 | ·············· |
| That our sons might follow after by the bones on the way. | 14 | ·/··/˘········ |
| Follow after -- follow after! We have watered the root, | 14 | /˘··/˘····/˘·· |
| And the bud has come to blossom that ripens for fruit! | 13 | ······/˘·/˘·· |
| Follow after -- we are waiting, by the trails that we lost, | 14 | /˘····/˘······ |
| For the sounds of many footsteps, for the tread of a host. | 13 | ····//······· |
| Follow after -- follow after -- for the harvest is sown: | 14 | /˘··/˘····/˘·· |
| By the bones about the wayside ye shall come to your own! | 14 | ······/······· |
| When Drake went down to the Horn | 7 | ······· |
| And England was crowned thereby, | 8 | ·/˘··˘·· |
| 'Twixt seas unsailed and shores unhailed | 8 | ········ |
| Our Lodge -- our Lodge was born | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| (And England was crowned thereby!) | 8 | ·/˘··˘·· |
| Which never shall close again | 7 | ·/˘··˘/ |
| By day nor yet by night, | 6 | ······ |
| While man shall take his life to stake | 8 | ········ |
| At risk of shoal or main | 6 | ······ |
| (By day nor yet by night). | 6 | ······ |
| But standeth even so | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| As now we witness here, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| While men depart, of joyful heart, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Adventure for to know | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| (As now bear witness here!) | 6 | ···/˘· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.