For All We Have and Are

For all we have and are,
For all our children's fate,
Stand up and take the war,
The Hun is at the gate!
Our world has passed away,
In wantonness o'erthrown.
There is nothing left today
But steel and fire and stone!
Though all we knew depart,
The old commandments stand:—
‘In courage keep your heart,
In strength lift up your hand.'

Comfort, content, delight,
The age's slow-bought gain,
They shriveled in a night.
Only ourselves remain
To face the naked days
In silent fortitude,
Through perils and dismays
Renewed and re-newed.
Though all we made depart,
The old commandments stand:—
‘In patience keep your heart,
In strength lift up your hand.'

No easy hopes or lies
Shall bring us to our goal,
But iron sacrifice
Of body, will, and soul.
There is but one task for all —
One life for each to give.
Who stands if Freedom fall?
Who dies if England live?

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)