General Joubert
(Died, South African War, March 27, 1900)
With those that bred, with those that loosed the strife,
He had no part whose hands were clear of gain;
But subtle, strong, and stubborn, gave his life
To a lost cause, and knew the gift was vain.
Later shall rise a people, sane and great,
Forged in strong fires, by equal war made one;
Telling old battles over without hate --
Not least his name shall pass from sire to son.
He may not meet the onsweep of our van
In the doomed city when we close the score;
Yet o'er his grave -- his grave that holds a man --
Our deep-tongued guns shall answer his once more!
poem by Rudyard Kipling
Added by Poetry Lover
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