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A continuing selection of classic and contemporary poems.

To Thomas Atkins

Rudyard Kipling

    I have made for you a song
    And it may be right or wrong,
But only you can tell me if it’s true.
    I have tried for to explain
    Both your pleasure and your pain,
And, Thomas, here’s my best respects to you!

    O there’ll surely come a day
    When they’ll give you all your pay,
And treat you as a Christian ought to do;
    So, until that day comes round,
    Heaven keep you safe and sound,
And, Thomas, here’s my best respects to you!
Online text © 1998-2009 Poetry X. All rights reserved.
From Barrack-Room Ballads
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